No Bounds
by KRudzik
Summary: After the death of her parents, Rachel moves into her Aunt's house, forcing her to transfer to Carmel. Things are bound to get interesting as Shelby Corcoran searches for her long lost daughter as Rachel strives to find herself among the mess that is high school.
1. Chapter 1

"I don't see why you want to go to Carmel Rachel, we were suppose to rule the Cheerios together this year. What am I suppose to do now?" Quinn asked as she sat on my bed and I sighed.

"I know but it's not that I really want to go to Carmel Quinn it's more of the fact that I have to go. My aunt's job is in Akron and her son is going to Dalton which is close by, they already gave up so much for me to complete my freshman year at McKinley, I don't want to make them stay here any longer."

"Oh just grow a pair and tell your aunt that you aren't moving." Santana said as she filed her nails and I shook my head.

"I'm not going to do that Santana, they have already been put through enough. The last thing that they need is for me to make their lives any harder..."

"Like it's your fault that your dad committed suicide last year."

"Santana!" Quinn barked.

"What it's not her fault, the man was selfish."

"He was her dad San." Brittany added as she walked over and joined us on the bed.

"Look I get that losing your husband to cancer is like a big deal and all but he had a daughter to think about and all he did was make sure his sister was left to take care of Rach, it's ridiculous." Santana finished as there was a knock on my door.

"Hey Rachel my mom wanted to let you know that we are leaving in fifteen minutes." Blaine said from the door way and I nodded.

"Thanks for letting me know, tell her we will be down in a second." I said and Blaine nodded as he walked down the hall and I turned back to the group of Cheerios that were lounging on my bed.

"God I wish your cousin wasn't gay, I would totally hit that." Santana said as she fawned over my cousin's retreating shadow.

"I'd still hit that if I was given a chance." Brittany said and I rolled my eyes.

"Forget about it, both of you." I stated and the pair rolled their eyes.

"So you're just leaving your stuff here?" Quinn asked and I nodded.

"Yeah. My aunt figures that I am going to need some time before I am ready to fully close this chapter of my life so we are holding off on packing everything up and selling until I am ready."

"I really don't want you to leave." Quinn said and I nodded.

"I know, I really don't want to leave either but like I said I have to."

"I'm going to miss you Rach." Brittany said as the tall blonde enveloped me in a hug which caught me off guard.

"I'm going to miss you too Britts." I said returning the gesture.

"You know hobbit I think that I am going to miss having you around to make fun of. I mean who else are we going to have to lift into the air? You are like the only midget to make the team. Now we are going to have to actually lift people of normal height and weight..."

"Oh just tell her that you are going to miss her, and stop insulting her San." Brittany said as she released me from our hug and Santana sighed.

"I really am going to miss you." Santana finally relented and I smiled.

"Aw, Santana said that she was going to miss me." I chided and Santana shoved me lightly.

"Don't you dare spread that around or I will hunt you down and kill you." She replied as we all got off the bed and I smiled.

"I wouldn't dare ruin your reputation."

"Good. So are you going to join Carmel's cheerleading team?" Santana asked and I shook my head.

"No, their team sucks, plus I wouldn't want to compete against you guys."

"That and Sue might kill you." Quinn added and we all laughed.

"There's that too." I added as we walked into the living room.

"Hey are you almost ready?" My aunt asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, just let me walk them out and then we can go." I said and she nodded.

"Alright, it was nice to see you girls again." She said and Santana, Quinn, and Brittany smiled.

"You too Mrs. Anderson." They said as we walked out of the house towards Quinn's car.

"So I guess this is goodbye." I said completely ruining the mood.

"It's not goodbye Rachel it's just until we see each other again." Brittany said and I smiled.

"Yeah that's it Rach, plus we are going to see you whenever we can. Trust me it will be like you never left." Quinn added.

"You guys are great."

"Oh we know." Santana stated and I quickly pulled her into a hug.

"You have to promise to keep me up to date on everything that is going on." I said and the three of them nodded.

"We wouldn't have it any other way."

"I can't believe this is it." Quinn stated and I sighed.

"I know..."

"Wait Rach!" I heard Puck call and we all quickly turned to where Puck was running up my driveway.

"What do you want Jew hawk?" Santana bit and Puck rolled his eyes.

"I just came by to say goodbye to Rachel, she is leaving isn't she?" He asked and Santana rolled her eyes.

"What was your first clue, the moving truck or all the boxes Einstein?"

"Be nice." I stated as I turned to Puck.

"I am moving, I was just saying goodbye to the girls and then I was heading out." I said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well I hope that you have a good time in Akron and keep in touch." He said and I smiled.

"I will, and try not to knock anyone up while I am gone." I joked and he let out a small nervous laugh.

"Funny." He stated recalling the close call that happened this summer between him and some senior.

"Bye Puck." I said as I gave him a quick hug and then I went down the line and hugged Quinn, Santana, and Brittany.

"Call us when you get there." Quinn said and I nodded.

"I will and try something new this year, for me." I said and they all rolled their eyes.

"We'll see." They stated and I smirked.

"I have to go, I'll text you as soon as I can." I said and they all waved as I rushed back to the house to help with the last of the boxes.

The drive to Akron was long and boring and moving my things into their house was not any more fun.

"So Rachel you are going to be in the guest room. Blaine and Cooper's room is down the hall, and your uncle and my's room is upstairs. Can I get you anything?" My aunt asked as I sat on the bed in the guest room.

"No I am quite alright for right now." I said with a fake smile plastered on my face and she nodded.

"Alright, but one thing before I go. I noticed that you didn't have a lot of clothes to wear and I figured that was because you wore your Cheerios uniform all last year so I took it upon myself to pick up a few things for you, I hope you don't mind." She said as she walked over to the closet and pulled out a few bags.

"You really didn't have to do that." I said as she placed the bags next to me.

"It's not much and I can give you some money so you can go shopping over the weekend but it's more than what you had." She said and I replaced my fake smile with a genuine one.

"Thank you, for everything. You really have no idea how much I appreciate everything that you have done for me, even if that means I have to switch schools."

"I know that you are a little bummed about that, but I looked into it and Carmel has a great cheerleading program and their glee club is the best in the nation, I remember how much you love to sing..."

"Loved, look thank you for everything but if you don't mind I would like some time to settle in. I still have a lot to unpack and I have school in the morning." I said and my aunt nodded.

"Alright Rachel, just let me know if you need anything."

"I will aunt Mia." I said and she quickly exited the room as I collapsed on the bed.

I woke up the next morning in the same position and I groaned as I pulled my sorry butt out of bed and made my way into the bathroom so I could take a shower. I made quick work of showering and I was in the middle of doing my makeup when my aunt walked in.

"Hey are you almost ready?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I just have to finish my makeup and then change. Is Blaine ready for his first day?" I asked and she nodded.

"He has been up for hours trying to find the best way to personalize his uniform. It's cute really. Anyway I have been thinking and you are going to need a way to get to and from school as well as to visit your friends in Lima and well we have Coop's old car and well now it's yours." She said producing keys from her pockets.

"Wait seriously?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes seriously, the only rule is that you stay out of trouble and you find something that interest you at school, other than that it is yours."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said as I ran over and gave her a huge hug before I took the keys much to her amusement.

"Be sure to get something to eat before you leave. I have to go ahead and take Blaine so I hope you don't mind that you are on your own." She said and I shrugged.

"It's whatever, but I have a car!" I stated and she just laughed.

"Have a good day." She said before she walked out of the room and I ran over to the bag of clothes that were still lying on the bed and picked out a black tank top and a pair of dark skinny jeans. When I was finally dressed I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a thing of fruit for breakfast and then walked out to see my new car.

It wasn't anything fantastic but it was a car and that was more than I had before. I was thrilled about the car up until I pulled into the parking lot of Carmel and I remembered that this was not McKinley and I couldn't show my friends my new ride.

I made my way into the office and got my schedule and then headed down the hallway to try and find my locker. It was about five seconds later that someone ran into me and knocked my books out of my hands.

"Hey watch it!" The person snapped and I glared at them.

"Me watch it? You were the idiot that ran into me." I snapped as I collected my books from the hallway floor.

"Did she just talk to me?" The curly haired boy asked and I stood up and rolled my eyes.

"Yes I was talking to you, there were no other jerks around at the moment, now if you would excuse me I have to find my locker."

"Look it's clear that you are new here so I am going to help you out a little bit. There is a social food chain here and I'm at the top while you, well you are about a step above a bottom feeding cheerleader. So here is my recommendation, don't talk to me, now or ever..."

"Is something going on here?" A teacher asked as she stepped between me and the curly haired freak.

"No Ms. Corcoran, I was just introducing myself to the new student, she seemed a little lost." The boy stated giving me a moment to look at the teacher who stepped into this mess.

She looked young for being a teacher. She was dressed in a tight fitting black dress with matching black heels and her wavy brown hair was pulled into a low side pony tail while her brown eyes barred into the soul of the boy in front of me. In a twisted way it seemed as if I was looking into a mirror that aged myself ten years.

"First of all it's Mrs. Reynolds now. And I'm sure that was all you were doing Jesse, now I would get to class before I inform my sister of your behavior towards the new students. I'm sure she would love to grill your ass during rehearsal, even if it is shortened." The woman threatened and the boy spared me a look before he stalked off down the hall followed by two girls who flanked his sides.

"Um, thanks." I said unsure of how to address the woman who had saved me from potentially getting my assed kicked.

"It's no problem, what's your name?" She asked as she walked besides me down the hall.

"Rachel." I stated coming to a stop in front of the locker I was assigned.

"Do you have a last name Rachel?" She asked and I sighed as I opened my locker.

"Anderson, Rachel Anderson." I quickly remarked remembering that name that my aunt had me fill out on the paperwork for school.

"It's nice to meet you Rachel Anderson, What year are you?" She asked and I turned around to look at her so it didn't seem like I was being rude.

"Sophomore, I attended McKinley high last year, it's a school in Lima."

"I'm familiar with that school. How did you like it?" She asked as I went back to putting things into my locker.

"It was okay, I had some good friends."

"Were you a member of the glee club?" She asked and I laughed.

"No, I was a Cheerio."

"Do you sing?" She asked and I was starting to feel uncomfortable with where the conversation was going.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I quickly snapped.

"I was just curious. You see Rachel this school is ruled by Vocal Adrenaline, the glee club not the cheerleaders, that kid who ran into you is Jesse St. James the lead of that program..."

"And you point is?" I asked and she sighed.

"You're used to being popular Rachel and unless you sing there is no shot at that. My sister is in charge of that program and she purges every good singer out of this school and leaves the rest to be eaten by her monster."

"I used to sing, but I don't anymore. Happy?" I asked as I shut my locker.

"I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot..."

"Ya think?" I sassed as I spun around to face her again.

"I'm just a teacher here Rachel, I'm just trying to be nice, I know what it is like being the new kid. My family moved around a lot when my sister and I were younger, but unlike my sister I wasn't quite as popular..."

"That's great and all but when I was at McKinley I was one of the top cheerleaders there, I was popular but I'm not shallow I can deal with just blending in. The only reason I am here is because some private things happened and I had to move. I don't even know why I am telling you this." I said as I walked past her.

"What arts elective do you have?" She asked and I stopped and faced her again.

"None, I don't do arts I told you that..."

"It's a required field for all students, check your schedule." She stated and I checked the piece of paper annoyed.

"What the hell, why am I in vocal techniques?" I snapped and she smirked.

"Told you."

"This has to be a mistake, I don't sing." I stated.

"It's not a mistake it's a policy. I'm guessing that the normal classes were filled because you are in a Vocal Adrenaline class..."

"This is nuts."

"Come with me, I will see if I can get this sorted out for you." She said as she guided me towards the front office.

"You know I have been a real jerk to you, a normal person would have just let me suffer through the class." I stated as we walked into the front office.

"You were a jerk but as a teacher it's my job to help the students. Plus after your little confrontation with Jesse this morning you needed me to stick by your side."

"Why? Would his little glee friends surround me and start a flash mob?" I joked and she laughed.

"No, they might get my sister involved, which trust me is much worse."

"How so?"

"Well unlike me is isn't quite as charming..."

"Oh and you're charming?" I joked.

"I'd watch it if I were you, I am a teacher."

"You don't really seem like the teacher type." I stated and she nodded.

"I get that a lot. I wasn't going to be a teacher but my sister got my this gig and well I have been here for a year and a half so far so I must be doing something right." She stated as we moved up to the front desk.

"Mrs. Jennifer Reynolds what can I do for you this morning?" A man in his thirties asked and Mrs. Reynolds smiled.

"I was looking over one of my students schedules and it seems like she got put into vocal tech with my sister. She is a new student and all and she doesn't sing, is there something you can do?" She asked and he nodded.

"Harsh, let me check but I make no promises, classes are basically full at this point." He said as he typed a few things into his computer.

"Any luck?" Mrs. Reynolds asked after a few minutes and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry but nothing is open. It seems like everyone who had that class last year switched out leaving it the only open arts class at this point in time, I wonder why. I can put her on a waiting list though and we can see how this week goes." He said and Mrs. Reynolds nodded.

"Do that and let me know as soon as something opens up." She said and he smirked.

"I will."

"So that is it, I'm stuck in vocal hell?" I asked and she nodded.

"Seems like it. Rachel you said that you used to sing, what is that all about?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, I just want to get to class." I stated.

"Who do you have first?" She asked and I opened my schedule.

"You have got to be kidding me." I stated and she smirked.

"You have me first don't you?" She asked and I nodded.

"Can this day get any worse?" I asked as I walked with her to her class room.

"Well you haven't met my sister yet so yeah, it can."

I actually really enjoyed Mrs. Reynolds' english class. She was a really great teacher, although I would not have guessed that from the conversation we had earlier. My other classes were also going well, at least until I had to go to vocal techniques. It was bad enough that I even had to go to this class but of course the only seat that was open in the class when I arrived was in the first row next to Jesse, the jerk from earlier today.

"What is walking 101 full?" He sassed as I took a seat and I just chose to ignore his comment. "I believe I asked you a question." He said a few minutes later and I could tell that just ignoring him was not going to get my point across.

"You did and I was choosing to ignore you, but because you have this obnoxious need to hear your own voice and ignore the rest of the world around you, let me make this simple and clear. Both of our lives would just be easier if you and I don't talk to each other and we act like the other doesn't exist. Got it?"

"No I don-"

"Hey my class time, everyone sit down and shut it!" Our teacher said as she walked out of her office and into the class room interrupting Jesse mid rant. "Now I know most of you but there are one or two of you that I am unfamiliar with so I think that it would be worth while for those select few to introduce themselves and then we will get on with my lesson for the day, and for those of you who are new I'm Ms. Corcoran, the coach of Vocal Adrenaline and your teacher for vocal techniques. Now lets start with you in the front next to Jesse, tell us about yourself." She said pointing at me and I internally sighed.

"I'm Rachel-"

"Stand up please." She said without looking up from role sheet and I stood up.

"I'm Rachel Anderson. I'm a sophomore and last year I went to McKinley in Lima."

"Why did you transfer?" She asked.

"I didn't want to, I had to because my family moved." I stated annoyed with why she was even asking when she wasn't even paying attention to me.

"You in the back next to Giselle." She said as she finally put her role sheet down and the kid in the back stood up.

"I'm Max Turner and there was a mistake on my schedule because I'm not suppose to be here." He said.

"Well as long as you are here what grade?" Ms. Corcoran asked.

"I'm a senior."

"Good, now that we have that out of the way I'm going to pair you up and you are to prepare a duet that you will perform tomorrow in class. Jesse and Rachel you two are working together..."

"Ms. Corcoran you can't be serious!" Jesse protested but that was quickly shot down by a look from our teacher.

"I am. Giselle and Max..." She continued to name off the pairs until she had paired everyone off and resigned to her desk while everyone got to talking about which song they wanted to work on.

"Just to let you know I don't want to work with you." Jesse said as he started to dig through his saddle bag.

"And you think I want to work with you?" I sassed and he just rolled his eyes.

"Can you at least sing?" He asked as he pulled sheet music from his bag.

"Why don't you just wait and see?" I asked and he just handed me the music he had selected.

"Now I know that Hello is typically a love song but it's a good duet and my vocals fit it perfectly."

"Cocky much?" I asked and he just rolled his eyes.

"There is a piano over there, want to show me what you can do?" He asked getting up.

"I don't sing, at least not anymore." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"Of course you don't sing. Look I know that you might be frightened by the prospect of singing in front of people..."

"It's not that I frightened that I don't sing, I don't sing because I don't want to..."

"Sure that's it, you probably sound like a horse..."

"Fine, lets go sing, but after this you leave me the hell alone." I sneered as we got up and walked over to the piano.

It was somewhere about three measures into the piece that I lost all sense of hatred for this boy. Our voices blended perfectly and although Jesse was an arrogant ass I had to admit he could sing. It wasn't until the song had ended that we noticed the entire classroom was silent and listening to us although it was Ms. Corcoran's slow clapping that brought the reality of the situation to my attention.

"That was quite a performance." She said as she circled the piano.

"I-we..."

"The rest of you are dismissed to work on your projects, I have some things to talk about with these two." She said and the rest of the room cleared without hesitation. "You have vocal training?" She asked me and I nodded.

"I used to take vocal lessons up until last year."

"You are going to have to take up lessons again to get you to the top of your game but your natural talent is fantastic."

"I'm confused." I stated as Jesse hopped up from the piano bench and went to sit on top of the piano.

"She is telling you that you are in Vocal Adrenaline." Jesse said as he checked out his nails.

"Vocal Adrenaline as in the glee club?" I asked and Jesse and Ms. Corcoran exchanged looks.

"She isn't slow is she?" Ms. Corcoran asked and Jesse shrugged.

"I'm right here and no I'm not slow but like I told Jesse earlier I don't sing." I said as I got off the piano bench and went to grab my things.

"Jesse can you leave us?" Ms. Corcoran asked and Jesse nodded as he hopped off the piano and left the room. "I don't get rejected often so you are going to have to walk me through this, you said you don't sing. Now I know that you can sing, you demonstrated that but why you won't sing is what I want to know." She said and I could feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes.

"I just can't- I can't do this." I said as I burst out of the room in tears.

I wasn't quite able to make it to the girls bathroom before someone grabbed my arm.

"Just go away." I sobbed but the arm was unrelenting as it dragged me down the unfamiliar halls.

"Rachel what's wrong?" I heard Jesse ask and I just glared at him as I wiped my tears.

"Like you care." I choked out and he sighed as he walked farther into the auditorium where he dragged me.

"I know that I can come off as an ass Rachel but I do care about people, well certain people. You have a wonderful voice I just don't understand why you don't want everyone to hear it..."

"I don't want anyone to hear me sing because I have nothing to sing for."

"You have plenty to sing for." Jesse countered.

"You know nothing about me." I spat.

"But I do know things about you. I know that you are a wonderful singer and that your parents are probably so proud of you..."

"My dad committed suicide last year after my other father died from cancer, that was why I moved so no they aren't proud of me they are dead."

"I didn't-"

"Know? Yeah that was what I was trying to tell you."

"What about yourself? Do you even like singing at all?" He asked.

"That doesn't matter..."

"But it does, you should be all that matters. I can't say that I know what it's like to lose someone I love because honestly I haven't lost anyone, but I know what it's like to feel like you are alone. My parents travel all the time and I don't really have anyone but my singing brought me to my family, Vocal Adrenaline is my family..."

"Vocal Adrenaline is a gimmick."

"You don't have to join Vocal Adrenaline if you don't want to, but don't give up singing, that would be a real crime."

"This is stupid, I have to go..."

"Where? You don't have another class to go to. At least come to rehearsal today." Jesse pleaded and I just shook my head.

"I'm sorry but I can't."

"Can't or won't?" He asked and I sighed.

"Jesse..."

"Look I'm not saying that we need you on the team, trust me we don't. The thing is though we want you on the team and that is pretty amazing for a first timer."

"I-I'll think about it, but just so you don't go off and tell your crazy ass coach and she gets some idea that by that I mean yes, this means that I need some time right now and I can give you an answer in a few days. Is that reasonable?" I asked and he smirked.

"You'll say yes." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm seriously doubting that."

"Shelby always gets what she wants Rachel, she will get you..."

"Well I'm not a something to get, I'm a human being. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go, class is out and I am going to go meet some people." I said walking past him.

"Some Lima-losers? Have fun." He chided and I rolled my eyes.

"I will."

* * *

**SHELBY'S POV:**

"She said no, she fucking said no!" I ranted as Jennifer sat at my kitchen table reading a magazine.

"Wait who are we talking about again?" She asked as she laid the latest issue of Vogue down and looked at me.

"Rachel Anderson, a girl in my vocal tech class. I mean her voice is ugh, I can't even describe it!"

"So she really can sing, huh did not see that one coming." Jennifer said and I sat down next to her.

"You know Rachel?" I asked and she nodded.

"I saved her from that snobby ass Jesse kid this morning. She seems pretty stubborn to me, a lot like you actually, she even looks like y-"

"Don't even say it. You know I have looked for my daughter and nothing has turned up, Rachel Berry has fallen off the face of the earth and this Rachel Anderson is not her. That being said I need her on VA. We are good without her but with her we would be unstoppable, plus there is always that small chance that she transfers back to McKinley and then I am screwed."

"Why don't you just make her join, thats what you did with another kid right?" She asked.

"That kid was always in trouble, it was easy to get them to join but Rachel isn't one to get in trouble."

"Well call me crazy but you could just try backing off and letting this one go, maybe she will come to you in your own time."

"I can't deal with maybes, I need confirmation. This girl is going to drive me insane, I can just feel it."

"What do you even know about her?" Jennifer asked and I sighed.

"She transferred from McKinley because of family issues and now she won't sing."

"What kind of family issues? Is she being abused or something?" Jennifer stated and I shrugged.

"All Jesse would tell me is what I told you. He does respect people's wishes, I have to give him that."

"So you got your little lap dog to go after her, smooth." Jennifer scolded and I rolled my eyes.

"I did no such thing, Jesse went after her on his own. It's like he actually cares about her or something..."

"Jesse care about someone other than himself? Right, and I have three heads."

"Regardless, Rachel willingly gave the information up to him and he isn't sharing."

"Maybe you could talk to her family and see if something is going on? Then you can step in and be like her hero or something." Jennifer offered and I shook my head.

"That just makes me seem too desperate. I think I am just going to have to let this one go for now. I still have her in my techniques course, I am just going to have to convince her that VA is what she wants to do, end of story."

"And what if she feels like VA isn't what she wants to do end of story?" Jennifer asked.

"Then I get more creative in my approach. Jesse talked to her and she said she would think about it. I will give her the few days that she is asking for before I take more drastic measures."

"Like what?" Jennifer asked clearly amused by me being flustered.

"I don't know. Don't you have a husband to go home to instead of bothering me?" I asked and she shrugged.

"I do but he has a dinner thing tonight and I don't really want to go so I am hoping that if I take my time he will go without me."

"Wow way to be mature."

"You know just because I am married doesn't mean that I am mature. And what about you? When are you going to settle down and start a family, I mean not that this Rachel kid isn't your family but you haven't found her yet."

"I'm giving myself until regionals. If I haven't found her by then I am going to look into adoption and then start looking again when she is eighteen. I can't keep searching forever." I said and Jennifer nodded.

"Yeah, but seriously you need to look into this Anderson girl."

"Jennifer enough."

"What? It can't be a coincidence that she has the same first name as the kid you gave away, the voice of an angel, and looks like you. At least check it out, that is all I am saying."

"Fine but not until I get her on VA."

"And what if she never joins?" Jennifer asked and I gave her a look.

"You know me, she is going to be joining one way or another."

"Doubt it." Jennifer said in her sing-song voice and I smirked.

"You know better than to doubt me."

"That may be but in a clash of the wills I would have to say that I would put my money on Rachel, she has you beat by a mile when it comes to stubbornness."

"Hey she already went from a flat out no to asking for a few days..."

"That is just her being polite and not trying to offend you, her answer is still going to be no, I can feel it."

"Yeah well you are about to feel my hand upside your face if you don't cut it out." I remarked and Jennifer smirked.

"I dare you to even try." She sassed and I rolled my eyes.

"You're not even worth it."

"Chicken." She stated trying to get a rise out of me but I let it go instead.

"Well being as you are here what would you like for dinner?"

"I don't know, what ever you are making sounds good to me."

"So that would be chinese take out." I said throwing the menu to her and she laughed.

"When are you finally going to learn how to cook?" She asked and I shrugged.

"When I finally have someone to cook for I suppose."

"Great, so that would be never." She remarked and I took off my shoe and threw it in her general direction so she got the point.

"Just remember I have another one of those."

"I can't believe you just threw a shoe at me."

"Believe it and it will happen again if you aren't careful."

"What ever, so are you paying or am I?" Jennifer asked.

"I'll pay, I think you got it last time. Why don't you go pick out a movie or something while I order and that way we can watch it when I am done." I said and Jennifer hopped up.

"Thanks, you know you are the best big sister that a girl could ask for." She stated and I smirked.

"I know, oh and no romantic comedies, Bryan doesn't like them and neither do I." I stated and she just shrugged as she walked out of the room.

"You and my husband don't know what you are missing!" She playfully called back to me and I shook my head as I walked over and grabbed the phone.

"Oh and dibs on the lounge chair!" I called and I heard her laugh.

"First come first served!" She stated recalling a childhood rule that we used to play by and I rolled my eyes as I dialed the familiar number.

**So here is the new story that I was talking about. I already have a lot of this story written so it actually isn't taking any time away from my other stories but this is just something that I have put together and has been bugging me so I wrote it. I hope someone likes it and if not, oh well it is fun to write. Plus I figured with my other story wrapping up it wouldn't hurt to put this out there.**

**-Katie **


	2. Chapter 2

**Rachel's POV:**

"So have you decided yet?" Jesse asked as I opened my locker and I glared at him.

"You know I liked it better when we didn't talk." I stated as I grabbed my english book.

"Oh you know that you enjoy my company, and you are avoiding my question." He stated and I sighed.

"That would be because I have no answer for your question. I mean get real, it has been less than twenty-four hours you can't expect me to have an answer." I stated and he shrugged.

"Well I did expect you to have an answer so sorry if I figured that you would gab about it with your friends back in Lima and then realize that you wanted to do it." He said as I rolled my eyes.

"Well I did _gab_ with my friends back in Lima and they did think that it was a good idea but I'm not ready to make a commitment to Vocal Adrenaline."

"Wait your friends thought that it was a good idea?" He asked and I nodded.

"Don't look so shocked. My friends have been worried about me not singing lately, it's only natural that they think me getting into singing again is a good idea." I said and Jesse nodded.

"I guess. So when will you have an answer?" He asked.

"If you were smart you wouldn't ask that question."

"I never said I was smart, I'm of only average intelligence so answer please." He stated with a huge smile on his face.

"For your own health I am going to ignore you right now, which reminds me please don't tell anyone about my parents. Part of the reason I moved was because I was tired of being pitied because of what happened to them."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Jesse said and I sighed.

"You promise me you didn't tell anyone?" I asked and he nodded his head.

"I didn't tell anyone that your parents were dead. I only mentioned to Ms. Corcoran that you had family issues and crap."

"Great."

"She won't tell anyone and she doesn't broadcast personal information, yours or anyone else's."

"Can you just ask her not to tell, just to be safe?" I asked and he smirked.

"That's going to cost you..."

"No it won't, you made this mess and now you get to clean it or it will be a flat out no to Vocal Adrenaline." I threatened and his smirk faded quickly.

"Alright. By the way we still have to perform a duet today in class and being as we sort of spoiled the Hello duet I was thinking that we could meet in the auditorium during lunch and work on a new one. That is of course only if you want to pass."

"What is wrong with the one we did yesterday?" I asked and he sighed.

"It was fine but by now Shelby has analyzed every last detail of the song and if we want to even consider passing this assignment we need fresh material." Jesse said and I sighed.

"Fine. It's not like I had other plans for lunch but I get to pick the song this time and it won't be tailored to your voice." I stated and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, just don't be late." He said as he sauntered off down the hall.

"Total ass right?" Someone said into my ear as I watched Jesse walk away.

"And you are?" I asked as I turned to face the girl who I recognized from my vocal tech class.

"I'm Andrea, I'm on VA not that you would know that. Hey what happened to you at practice yesterday? I mean when Coach C dismissed us from class to talk to you I was sure that she was talking to you about joining VA, you're good enough that's for sure." Andrea said staying in step with me as I walked towards my english class.

"I told them that I needed some time to think about whether or not I wanted to join, I'm not a big singer."

"But you're fantastic." Andrea said.

"Thanks but it wasn't a flat out no, I just said that I needed some time."

"So you are going to join?" She asked and I rolled my eyes.

"It's was nice to meet you Andrea and I guess I will see you later." I said walking into class.

"But you didn't answer my question!" She called after me and I just sat down in my seat and got prepared for class, feeling very relieved when Andrea went away.

"So you turned my sister down?" Mrs. Reynolds said as she walked next to me.

"Not entirely, at least yet." I said with a smirk which she returned.

"When do you have your free period?" She asked.

"Right before lunch." I replied and she nodded.

"Could you stop by my office so we could talk? I have a few things that I want to ask you about, that is if you want to speak with me." She said and I smiled.

"I have a few things that I need to do for the first part of my free period but I can swing by at the end."

"That is perfect."

"Then I guess I will see you then." I said and she smiled as she walked up to her desk to start class.

Classes were a breeze again today and before I knew it I was walking into Mrs. Reynolds' office to speak with her about whatever.

"So what did you want to talk with me about?" I asked as I came in and took a seat in the chair across from her desk.

"You made my sister very upset yesterday and I just wanted to thank you. I think you are one of the first people to ever tell her no and to make her work for something. So on that note I applaud you on the other hand though I was looking over the worksheet you did yesterday and there are some careless errors on here that I don't think you intended to have." She said and I looked at her with disbelief.

"What? There can't be errors on there I checked my work twice." I said getting up so I could look at the worksheet she had in her hands.

"You misspelled a few words and then your punctuation is off on this sentence." She said pointing out the careless mistakes that I had clearly made.

"I'm sorry, I'm usually a lot more careful with my work, I don't know what happened." I said as I returned to my seat and she nodded.

"Well as long as this isn't normal for you I don't think that we are going to have a problem. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of the mistakes that you made and you are more careful with your future work, I am actually doing this with all of my students so don't feel like I am calling you out."

"I will be more careful. So is that it?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yep unless you have any thing that you need to talk to me about." She said and I shook my head as I went to get up but I paused at the door and turned back to her.

"Did your sister happen to mention anything about my family?" I asked and she shook her head.

"No, why do you ask?" She said clearly lying about not knowing.

"Well if she did I don't care but I really don't want word spread around the school about my issues. At my last school people felt sorry for me and I was treated differently which was part of the reason I didn't mind leaving."

"Well like I said I really don't know anything, but how did you know she told me?" Mrs. Reynolds asked and I shrugged.

"You aren't that great at lying. Plus from what I have seen from my friends, sisters tell each other everything."

"Not everything, but enough, and don't worry about me telling anyone, your secret is safe with me, although again I really don't know that much."

"Thanks." I said with a smile as I exited her office heading to the bathroom to freshen up before I went to the auditorium to meet with St. James.

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

I was surprised to see Rachel leaving Jennifer's office. It seemed like Rachel had taken a liking to Jennifer and I was sure that I was going to be able to use that to my advantage in the future.

"Hey Jen what were you meeting with Rachel about?" I asked as I walked into my sister's office and she looked up at me.

"I was going over a few things that she did wrong on her assignment and I was making sure that she was understanding the concept. I also got busted for knowing about her family issues which reminds me don't spread that around..."

"Jesse already told me. So what are you doing for lunch?" I asked and she gave me a look.

"I brought a lunch from home, you know that. Why?" She asked and I shrugged.

"Well there is going to be a performance in the auditorium during lunch and I thought that you might have wanted to join me..."

"You're spying on Rachel aren't you?" She asked and I nodded.

"Jesse is making them learn a new duet for my class, you have to hear this girl, it will explain so much."

"You are insane but I will oblige you." She said getting up and I grabbed her lunch and headed out the door so that all she had to do was follow me.

"So how is your day going?" I asked making light conversation as we walked towards the auditorium.

"It was going just fine until you dragged me into this little scheme." Jennifer replied.

"I didn't drag, you are walking into this all on your own, now I may have coaxed you but I did not drag."

"Whatever. So how are we going to get in there without anyone knowing?" Jennifer asked and I pointed to the sound booth door.

"I have keys to that room so we can hear and see them but they can't hear or see us. Any more stupid questions that I have brilliant answers to?"

"Why are you such an ass?" Jennifer remarked and I glared at her.

"Because I have had to deal with you all my life. That's why." I sassed in return and she rolled her eyes.

"I was sure it had to do with the stick you have had up your ass for the last few years." Jennifer rebutted and I opened the door and pointed for her to go up the stairs.

"Just go before I have to kill you and lose my job." I stated and Jennifer just smirked as she walked past me.

Jennifer and I were seated in the sound booth long before Rachel and Jesse walked into the auditorium to work on their song.

"So what we are just going to spy on them? How do you even know that they are going to be singing? I feel like this is a bad idea..."

"They are going to sing, that was the sole purpose of their meeting and this is not a bad idea." I said and she sighed as she took a bite of her salad.

"If you say so..."

"I do now shush, I want to hear what they are saying."

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

"So what song did you pick?" Jesse asked as I walked in and set my things down by the piano.

"The show is Rent the song is Without You if you must know this instant." I said as I made my way over to where he was sitting

"You know broadway?" Jesse asked in a surprised manner and I just gave him a look.

"Of course. I used to live and breath broadway before, well before you know."

"Yeah. So shall we get to working on the song?" Jesse asked and I nodded.

"Of course." I said as I walked over to the piano and he plunked out a few notes.

"So what other musicals are you into?" Jesse asked and I shrugged.

"Wicked, Phantom, Spring Awaking, Les Mis, the good ones." I joked and Jesse laughed.

"Of course. So do you need to warm up or would you like to just jump into the song?" Jesse asked and I shrugged.

"It's up to you, I can do either."

Jesse and I ran through the song twice before we just fell into a brief silence.

"Do you miss them? Your parents I mean." Jesse said as I sat on the lid of the piano and he sat on the bench.

"Of course I miss them, I would have to be a cold hearted bitch to not miss them, but it is what it is." I said as I brushed my hair back behind my ear. "So what are Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal's like?" I asked trying to change the subject so I didn't have to talk about my dads.

"Hell, and that is putting it nicely. But in all honesty Shelby works us hard because it pays off, we are three time National champs and hopefully we will be four time national champs if I can pull off another win this year."

"You have doubts?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Never. Why were you asking about rehearsals anyway, are you interested in joining us?" He teased and I shook my head.

"Not in the least, I'm just curious."

"Curiosity can be a dangerous thing." He stated

"They do say that its a gate way drug." I teased and Jesse gave me a gentle smirk. "No, actually I just wanted to know because it is something that I need to know in order to make an informed decision."

"Yes because making a decision without having all your facts straight can be dangerous." He remarked and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever are we good?" I asked and he smirked.

"I'm good, your singing is okay." He stated and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I meant with working on the song, smart ass. I still have to get something for lunch..."

"Come to rehearsal today." Jesse stated ending our playful banter.

"What?"

"Vocal Adrenaline is having brief rehearsals this week due to auditions. I think that since you are deciding on whether or not to come and join the team that you should at least get to know what you are getting yourself into."

"I don't know, it's a nice offer but..."

"If you come out to rehearsal I will treat you to dinner or something, come on it will be fun."

"No."

"Please, don't make me beg."

"Isn't that what you are doing now?" I asked and he shook his head.

"No, sadly it's not, it only gets worse. Will you come?" He asked and I finally relented.

"Fine I will come but you owe me a nice dinner and I expect nothing less." I stated and he smirked.

"Only the finest for the lady."

"Whatever. I will see you in vocal tech." I said as I hopped off the piano.

"Let me walk with you." Jesse offered.

"Jesse-"

"Don't I'm just being nice. Plus I want to know what you and Andrea were talking about this morning." Jesse said as he followed me out of the auditorium.

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

"What did Jesse mean by asking her if she missed her parents?" Jennifer asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know but I will be asking him about that later. So what did you think of her singing?" I asked and Jennifer smiled

"She's good, more than good actually. So what now?" Jennifer asked after Jesse and Rachel left the auditorium.

"First off I need to talk to Jesse..."

"And why is that?" Jennifer asked and I sighed.

"He is playing her. I mean come on he is only that nice to his reflection, walking her to lunch, taking her out to dinner? No, either he likes this girl or he thinks that getting her on the team will secure him a spot in my good graces."

"Won't it though? I mean you want her so why not let him be the one getting his hands dirty?"

"Because if he is just playing her and she finds out before she joins the team she won't come back."

"And how do you know that?" Jennifer asked.

"You were the one that said she was like me and I know that if the roles were reversed that is what I would do. I have to make sure Jesse is stopped."

"Wait a second here. Jesse is close to getting you what you want so let him do it. You're right she is like you which means if you can coach Jesse a little bit getting this girl to bite will be easier than you anticipated." Jennifer said and I smiled.

"You're right, but I still need to talk to Jesse so while it has been nice hanging out with you..."

"You regret to inform me that you are leaving like usual." Jennifer stated and I nodded.

"Of course. Have a good rest of the day and I will see you around but I have to run." I said as I walked out of the room towards my office so I could go ahead and fill out a pass in order to pull Jesse out of his next class.

It was about three minutes after the bell rang that Jesse was walking into my office and plopping down in one of my office chairs.

"You summoned me?" He asked and I nodded.

"What is your deal with Rachel?" I asked and he sighed.

"She is a tough one to crack but I am working on it." He stated as he leaned back in his seat.

"And what do you mean by that?" I questioned and he smiled.

"I am thinking of this as an acting exercise, I am going to seduce her and get her to join the team. Phase one of my plan is already complete but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done."

"You can say that." I remarked as I pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

"What does that mean?" Jesse asked and I folded my hands neatly on top of my desk.

"If you are going to do this we have to do it right. You are going to need some pointers and well I guess I am going to have to be the one to give them to you. First of all where are you thinking of taking her tonight for your dinner?" I asked and he smirked.

"You spied." He commented and I nodded.

"I did. Now where are you going to take her?" I asked again.

"I haven't really thought about it. Probably somewhere romantic..."

"Let me stop you right there lover boy, she isn't interested in you in that way, at least not yet. You have to act as though you are on the same level as she is. Choose a place that has the food options that she will want and that is semi-casual. Now how do you usually pay for your dates?" I asked and he sighed.

"Cash."

"Okay that explains why you don't currently have a girl friend. Pay with your credit card." I stated.

"What? I always pay with cash, plus if we are just friends shouldn't she pay for herself?" Jesse asked and I sighed knowing that I wasn't getting anywhere with this kid.

"You offered to take her out to dinner so you will be paying. Now you will pay with credit because you are not going to let her see how much you are spending on her. It will make her feel like this could end up being more than just a friendship."

"Would you like to know what I plan on wearing as well? Maybe give me some tips on how to style my hair? Look I know what I am doing so let me do it." Jesse spat and I shook my head.

"No you have no idea what you are doing and if you screw up it will ruin everything."

"Like what? You don't even have a plan on how to get this girl to join VA."

"Listen here Jesse, I may not have a plan right now but I do know that if she finds out you are just playing her everything will be ruined, so I advise you to listen to what I have to say and take it to heart because if you screw this one up you will be my new soprano lead. Got it?" I asked and Jesse silently nodded. "Good."

"Is there anything else I should do?" Jesse asked and I nodded.

"You need to act like you forgot to ask me about her coming to rehearsal until just a few minutes before."

"Why would I want to do that?" He asked.

"Because it makes her think that she is an after thought, I guess in a twisted way it makes her want to do something to capture your attention more. I mean think about it when she said no to VA it made us want her just that much more."

"I guess you're right."

"I usually am. So any other questions?" I asked and Jesse shook his head.

"No I think that you covered everything."

"Good, which reminds me here is the music that we are working on during rehearsal today, go ahead and pass the parts onto Giselle while you are at it and I will see you in a few classes."

"Alright." Jesse said as he went to get up.

"Jesse, one more thing." I said and Jess turned around to face me again.

"And what is that?" He asked and I sighed.

"What did you mean when you asked Rachel if she missed her parents?" I asked and Jesse bit his lower lip.

"I promised I wouldn't tell." Jesse said and I sighed.

"I think that this is the first time you are actually keeping a promise." I stated.

"Okay so this might be a little more than an acting exercise. Please don't make me tell you, Rachel would kill me and I think I might really like her." Jesse said and I knew I couldn't push him to tell me.

"Alright then get to class." I said and Jesse nodded as he took the parts and then walked out of the room. Everything might just be falling into place.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

The rest of my classes were fine and before I knew it I was walking into the back of the auditorium in order to watch Vocal Adrenaline rehearse. I wasn't sure where to go so I slowly made my way down the side aisle until Jesse saw me coming and he came running over to where I was.

"Okay so don't hate me but I totally forgot to ask Shelby about you being here. Um, take a seat here and I will be right back." Jesse said as he guided me to a row of seats and then took off towards the director's table where Ms. Corcoran was sitting writing something.

It took a few minutes for him to talk to Ms. Corcoran and the entire time they were talking she looked really annoyed but eventually Jesse returned to me with a smile.

"Again I am so sorry about that."

"Are you sure that it is okay that I am here, Ms. Corcoran looked pretty upset by me being here."

"Oh that, no she was just mad that I waited until the last second to tell her and something about how practices are private events or something. Actually she wanted me to tell you that she is glad that you came and you can join her at the director's table. And by that she means you have to sit at the director's table to make sure you don't take notes and steal her ideas. I hope that is okay."

"I'm here so I might as well play by her rules." I said and he smiled.

"Come with me I will make sure you are settled before I have to go warm up." Jesse said as he extended his hand to me and I reluctantly took it allowing him to lead me over to where Ms. Corcoran was waiting.

"Rachel, you can take a seat next to me and Jesse I think it would be best for you to go ahead and get everyone started on warming up." Ms. Corcoran said and Jesse nodded as he turned and walked towards the stage.

"Ms. Corcoran I'm sorry about all of this. Had I of known that Jesse would have been so absent minded..."

"You don't have to worry about anything, it was Jesse's fault. So do you have any questions for me?" She asked and I bit my lip for a second.

"How does this all work? I've been a part of a few teams but never like this."

"Well Jesse and Giselle are going to lead the rest of the group through vocal warmups and stretches..."

"Why Jesse and Giselle?" I asked and Ms. Corcoran smiled.

"They are the male and female leads of the group. I have them do the warmups in order to give me time to do whatever I need to do. What sort of groups did you partake in at McKinley?" Ms. Corcoran asked.

"I was a cheerleader my freshmen year and prior to that I have done gymnastics and dance. My parents wanted me to be able to do anything that I wanted to do and they thought that those classes were a good way to start me on my path to broadway."

"Broadway? Those are big dreams for someone who doesn't sing..."

"I used to sing and I am starting to again."

"Only because you have to." She corrected and I cracked a smile asI nervously tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"For now."

"So Jesse has been bugging you about this whole thing recently?" Ms. Corcoran asked gesturing to the chaos that was ensuing on the stage.

"You could say that. So what happens after warmup?" I asked and she dug through the pile of papers on her desk and handed me a handwritten schedule that she must have scrawled out in between her classes today.

"Today we are working on a few new songs..."

"New? It's only the second day of school."

"We have rehearsals during the summer. Sectionals are only a few months into the semester and we have invitationals before that. Am I going to fast for you?" She asked and I shook my head.

"No I just am not sure about these terms. I'm new to the whole thing."

"Invitationals is like a big showcase where we scare the competition a little. Following that we have our sectionals where we compete against schools in the immediate area and when we win we go to regionals and then nationals."

"You're pretty confident about your teams up coming performances."

"Sectionals is a joke and I am pretty sure that they will perform well during regionals. The only thing that has me a little worried is nationals but I think we can take it again."

"So are these the songs that you are going to be doing today?" I asked as I looked over the list and she nodded.

"Yeah I thought that hitting some broadway tunes might do the team a little good. Usually we use more mainstream music but I wanted to change it up a little bit. Are you familiar with these pieces?"

"Yeah. This is Wicked and this one is Les Mis."

"I'm a broadway buff myself but as you can tell I had to throw in a few more modern songs for my less cultured students." She stated and I smirked.

"Such a pity."

"Tell me about it. Well I should go ahead and get this whole show started, just let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them as best as I can." Ms. Corcoran said as she turned towards the stage and got the attention of her performers.

I had to admit that Vocal Adrenaline was a beast. They were perfect and in sync but that Giselle girl butchered two of my favorite songs leaving me more than a little agitated.

"What did you think?" Jesse asked as we walked out of the auditorium.

"It was different..."

"Different?" Jesse asked with a raised brow.

"Giselle butchered those songs. I mean Shelby tried to make it better but seriously it was becoming painful to listen to."

"Giselle was taken way out of her comfort zone. I mean she is used to singing pop and rock songs, she isn't a broadway fan. She wants to go to LA and see if she can get a recording deal after high school."

"And what are your plans?" I asked as we walked into the parking lot.

"I don't know just yet. I am applying for a few schools in LA and New York and then I have to see where I can get the best scholarship."

"Sounds reasonable. So are we taking separate cars or what?" I asked as we came to a stop a few feet away from my car.

"Why don't we both go in my car and then I can take you back here so you can take your rolling death trap home." Jesse joked.

"My car is not that bad." I said in an outrage and he just laughed.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself so you can sleep better at night." He said as he started walking to another area of the parking lot.

"It's a car and it works, that is all that matters to me." I said following him as we came upon a row of Range Rovers that were slowly coming to life and moving out of the parking lot. "Now this is a nice car." I said gesturing to Jesse's ride and he smiled

"If you joined VA you could get yourself one of these bad boys." Jesse said as he tossed his bag into the trunk of the second Range Rover in the line.

"They gave these to you guys for joining?" I asked as I ran my hand along the side of the car and he shook his head.

"No, they were presents from the booster club for making it to nationals last year, but they have a few extra so that the new kids this year each get one. I bet you could talk them into painting yours pink, it's all in the negotiations."

"Just to let you know I am not the typical girl who fawns over pink, I have totally different taste when it comes to colors..."

"You like green don't you?" He asked and I smirked.

"Maybe. Whose car is that?" I asked pointing to the one next to Jesse's with the small star pin striping detail on the side.

"That's Ms. Corcoran's car, stars are kind of her thing."

"Mine too." I said and Jesse shrugged.

"Weird, so are you ready to go?" He asked and I nodded as I walked around to the passenger side of the car and got in.

"Where are we going?" I asked after a few minutes of silence and he smiled at me.

"It's a little place that has some really great dishes. It's not too far from here. I think you will enjoy it."

"Vegetarian dishes?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Yes vegetarian dishes, I am not a moron."

"But you are an ass."

"I can't believe that everyone thinks that about me. It just goes to show you that when you will do anything to get to the top people will always hate you for it."

"I guess, or it could just be your oh so charming personality."

"That must be it." Jesse said as he pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant that I had never heard of before.

"What is this place?" I asked as I took my seatbelt off.

"Please don't tell me that they don't have a Crescendo in Lima." Jesse said turning to me and I shook my head.

"They don't, we have a Breadsticks."

"That place won't even compare to this one, come on." He said as he opened his door and I mimicked his actions and got out.

It was a nice place but it was still casual which was great. As soon as Jesse and I walked in we were seated by a young hostess who seemed enthralled by Jesse which he was eating up.

"Way to flirt with the hostess." I joked as we sat down and he laughed.

"Jealous much?" He joked and I shook my head.

"Me? Never!"

"Try to lie all you want but I can see the lusting in your eyes." Jesse stated and I rolled my eyes.

"I think you are confusing lusting and annoyance." I replied and we both laughed.

"So do you see anything that you like?" He asked and I nodded as I lowered my menu.

"I do see a few things that capture my interest. How about you?"

"I am going to get my usual."

"And what is that?"

"You can wait and see."

"Are you ready to order?" A young waitress asked Jesse and he smiled.

"Yes I would like a sparkling water for me and my girl friend, thanks." He stated grabbed my hand across the table and the waitress gave us a tight smile as I played along.

"I will be right back with those for you." She said as she walked away and I gave Jesse a look as I pulled my hand from his.

"Did you really have to do that?" I asked and he grinned.

"No I didn't have to do that but I like making girls squirm. You know if at the end of our meal you want to fake a fight and storm out I would be all for it."

"Great I'm friends with a player."

"Friends?" Jesse asked and I nodded.

"I know the word shocked me as well."

"Who would have thought that the girl who ran me over in the hallway yesterday would be sitting across from me at dinner calling me a friend today?" Jesse asked.

"I do believe that you were the one who ran into me." I corrected and he rolled his eyes.

"Logistics."

Jesse and I kept up the bantering until after dinner and then he refused to let me pay for my own dinner or even see the bill.

"Rachel I invited you to dinner I am paying." Jesse stated as I reached for the bill again as he slipped his credit card into the holder.

"And I was only joking about you paying. Come on I know that my three glasses of sparkling water had to cost an arm and a leg not to mention my meal wasn't cheap either. And I wouldn't have ordered dessert..."

"Rachel I got this don't worry about it." Jesse said as he handed it to the waitress and it was gone.

"You had to do that, you know in this day in age females are more than capable of paying for themselves."

"They may be but not today."

"Whatever." I said as the waitress handed the black card holder back to Jesse and he signed the slip and then we got up to leave.

"We should be heading back being as you have to grab your car and we still have school in the morning."

"Yeah yeah." I said as we reached his car.

"You know I had a nice time with you tonight." Jesse said as we got into his car and I smiled.

"I had a relatively nice time with you as well." I stated and he chuckled.

"What is with the relatively?" He asked and I shrugged.

"Well I mean there were parts that could have gone better but overall I had a nice time." I stated and he sighed.

"I just can't please you can I?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Never." I joked.

Jesse made sure that I was in my car and it started before he left and I went to drive home. I had no idea why but I felt myself falling for this boy, which was weird being as I barley knew him which was why as soon as I was by myself I called Quinn.

"Hey Rach, you're on speaker. I'm with Santana what's up?" She asked and I sighed.

"I think I'm falling for Jesse." I stated and I heard Santana laugh.

"The jerk you told us about yesterday? Are you an idiot? He is totally playing you." She stated and I sighed.

"That is what I am afraid of, but his actions aren't like he is playing me, they are genuine."

"You have to let us meet this kid. Give me ten minutes with the kid and I can tell you if he is for real." Quinn stated.

"Yeah and if he isn't genuine I'll kick his ass." Santana added and I laughed.

"Thanks guys, so what about this glee thing?" I asked and I heard them both let out a collective sigh.

"How long do you have before you need an answer?" Quinn asked.

"I don't really have a specific time limit I just asked for some time..."

"Look midget you love to sing I don't see why you are hesitating." Santana barked and I sighed.

"You know I gave up singing wh-"

"When your father died, yeah we know. Look Rachel I get that it sucks and all but get over it..."

"SANTANA!" Quinn barked.

"I've got to go."

"See look what you did San." Quinn stated and I laughed.

"It's not that its just that I have to get home. I will talk to you this weekend okay?"

"Yeah okay." They both replied and I rolled my eyes as I hung up the phone. Those girls were of no help to me.

**So as a sign of good faith to all my reviewers I posted the second chapter. I hope you like it. As for who Rachel gets involved with romantically, who knows...**

**-Katie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Rachel's POV:**

"So Blaine how is school?" I asked as we sat down to breakfast on Saturday morning and he just sighed.

"It sucks." He stated as he moved his spoon around his cereal bowl.

"Why is that? I mean you were so happy about it earlier this week." I asked and he nodded.

"I guess it doesn't exactly suck. I mean I was excited and I still am but I am just nervous about my audition for the Warblers. I thought it went really well but I haven't heard back from them..."

"Who are the Warblers?" I asked and he just shook his head in disbelief.

"Have you been listening to a word I have said in the past week?" Blaine asked and I shrugged.

"I've been a little distracted lately. But tell me I'm listening now." I stated and he rolled his eyes.

"The Warblers are the glee club at Dalton, they are amazing."

"Wait so you auditioned for glee?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes I did. Although I would have given anything to be able to audition for Vocal Adrenaline, which reminds me what did you ever decide to do with your offer?" Blaine asked as he got up and put his bowl in the sink.

"I haven't yet."

"What? Are you insane? Shelby Corcoran offered you a position on her team and you haven't snatched it up yet. By the time that you realize that you should have taken the offer it will be too late." Blaine stated and I shook my head.

"So you think I should take the position." I stated and he nodded.

"It's a stupid question Chelle, take the position."

"Easy for you to say, it's not your life that you are completely changing..."

"Rachel I hate seeing you like this."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked being as this was the first time that I had ever heard Blaine say something like this to me.

"I just mean that you were the one who taught me how to sing Chelle. We were playing around with uncle Hiram's piano..."

"And I started singing and you asked me how to do that."

"I miss that Rachel."

"I'm not a different person Blaine."

"But you are. You used to sing on a whim and now you never sing, I just want you to sing again."

"But that doesn't mean that I need to go out and join a glee club." I countered and he smiled.

"No it doesn't, but I think that joining a glee club would be good for you."

"You and everyone else. So what are your plans for the day bud?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Nothing much. Mom and dad went out to go see Coop today and I am suppose to clean my room or something. What are you up to?" He asked.

"I want to head over to Lima to go see Q, S, and B. You could come if you wanted." I said and he shook his head.

"Yeah I am going to have to pass on that one." Blaine stated and I smirked.

"What, hot cheerleaders aren't your type?" I joked and he shook his head.

"Funny, no I have things to do here, but you go and have fun." He said and as I got up.

"Alright, suit yourself." I said as I grabbed a quick snack and then headed up to my room to change.

"Rachel!" Blaine called after me and I stopped and looked at him.

"Yes?" I asked and Blaine smiled.

"I wasn't lying when I said that you were different. I know that you aren't big on the whole glee club thing but maybe you could just check it out so that you can go back to being the Rachel that I used to know. I get that everyone is giving you your space and they aren't pushing you on this glee thing but I think they should and in all honesty if you wait too much longer and keep this sulking up they aren't going to give you a choice." Blaine said and I nodded.

"I know and thank you for being honest with me Blaine, people have been a little too concerned with how I felt." I said and he smiled.

"We're family, it's my job to tell you how it is." He said with a laugh and I just rolled my eyes as I turned and walked up to my room.

I chose to wear a simple black v-neck shirt with a pair of jean shorts along with my converse. I made sure that Blaine knew I was leaving before I walked out to my car and got ready to go. I sent a text to Quinn to let her know that I would be on my way as soon as I got gas in my car and then I headed to the gas station. It seemed like it took forever to fill the car up with gas and when it was finally filled I was just happy to be able to get into my car and start it. The only problem with that was the fact that my car wasn't starting.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" I said banging my steering wheel. Of course this would happen today, the one day that I got to escape this hell hole and my car won't let me.

I got out of my car in a fury and kicked the tire only to turn around at the sound of snickering.

"I take it as your car is not cooperating with you?" Jesse asked.

"Are you stalking me?" I replied and he just laughed.

"Hardly, I am at a gas station because I need to fill my car up and after seeing you abuse your poor steering wheel I figured I would come over and see what was wrong."

"Well I filled it up with gas and now the stupid thing won't work." I stated and he just laughed harder.

"I told you that thing was a rolling piece of crap." Jesse said and I just glared at him.

"Yeah well what am I suppose to do now? I'm stranded here until my car starts working and I have people waiting for me in Lima." I stated in frustration and he pulled out his phone.

"I'll get it towed to the local auto shop for you and then I will take you to Lima if you want." Jesse offered and I sighed.

"I guess that is all I can do, the tow truck thing that is, you really don't have to drive me all the way to Lima." I stated and he just smiled.

"It gives me more time to pester you if I take you. Plus I really am dying to meet these Lima loser friends of yours." He stated as he dialed a number on his phone.

"They aren't losers, and I'm not sure that I really want you to meet them, let alone pestering me the entire ride over there." I stated and Jesse shrugged.

"Suit yourself but it's a long walk to Lima." He stated and I rolled my eyes.

"How long until the tow truck gets here?" I asked and he shrugged.

"It shouldn't be too much longer." He stated and I nodded.

"Alright, so what now?" I asked and he gestured to the inside of the convenient store.

"Want to grab something to drink? It would be my treat." He said with a goofy smile and I nodded.

"By all means, if it's your treat." I stated as he led the way into the small shop.

"What are you getting?" He asked as I stood in front of the glass coolers weighing my options.

"I don't know. I'm not really a soda kid but on the same token I could really go for one."

"How about tea or coffee?" He asked and I sighed.

"I guess that would be a good alternative." I stated and he shook his head.

"If you don't choose soon I am going to pick something for you." He said as he walked off with a RedBull in his hands and I smirked.

"How can you even drink that stuff?" I asked as I grabbed a tea and followed him over to where he was looking at the candy racks.

"What RedBull? This stuff is like the blood of Vocal Adrenaline, and this stuff actually isn't too bad once you drink enough of it." He stated and I shook my head.

"Do you know how bad that stuff is for you?"

"Oh please do not go on that kick right now. I want to see you join VA and not drink this stuff like your life depended on it." Jesse said taking a step towards me.

"I bet you that I could last longer without RedBull than you could." I challenged stepping forward closing the small gap between us.

"Oh really? You know that in order to keep up your end of the deal in this challenge you would have to join Vocal Adrenaline." Jesse stated and I smirked.

"I figured." I stated as the gap between us vanished and we were chest to chest with our lips just a few inches away from each other.

"What does that mean?" He asked and I pulled away and let out a small laugh.

"Are you really that dense? I think that it means that I have made a decision about whether or not I want to join your little VA thing." I commented and he smiled.

"Seriously?" He asked.

"No I am totally playing with you right now. I haven't decided anything and I am just standing here pulling your leg." I stated as we walked up to the counter.

"Then why didn't you just tell me this yesterday when I asked you?" Jesse asked as he paid for our drinks and a Snickers that he had picked up.

"Because I just decided this morning." I stated and he smirked.

"Just needed another night to think about it? Or did you just want to drive me crazy over the weekend?" He asked and I shook my head.

"No, I just had to talk to my cousin."

"Don't you live with your cousin?" Jesse asked as we made our way outside to wait for the tow truck.

"Yes I do but I don't get to see him that often. Usually by the time that I get up to go to school he has already left and when I get home I am not usually in a talkative mood."

"So what did this cousin, that I have to thank, do to get you to change your mind?"

"He told me the truth and I guess once you hear something enough you start to believe it. I guess in a way I respect what he has to say more than anyone else."

"Then I guess I am glad that he thought joining VA was a good thing and not the other way around. By the way you might want to call someone and let them know that your car is being towed, I just think that they might want to know."

"I'll send them a text once I know where it is being towed to. It's such a pity though." I stated and Jesse raised an eye brow.

"What is?" He asked and I sighed.

"I just put thirty dollars worth of gas into that car that I might never get back, it's such a shame." I joked and Jesse laughed.

"Such as shame, hey I think your tow is here." He said pointing to the truck that was pulling into the gas station.

"I think so."

As the driver was working on getting my car onto the back of his truck I went ahead and let my aunt know what was going on as well as Quinn so she knew that I was going to be late and bringing a guest, which Santana seemed thrilled about.

"So the driver is going to tow your car to Vinny's garage. I know Vinny so I let him know what was going on and he said that he will take care of it for you and your family."

"Jesse that is too much."

"Not really, Vin owes me so we are calling it even. Shall we get going? I already paid the tow truck driver so all that is left is to get you to Lima, if you still want to go that is." Jesse stated and I smirked as I walked towards the car.

"Oh I want to go, and you get to meet my friends, which you aren't going to like so much." I stated as I walked towards his car and he rolled his eyes.

"Like I'm afraid of meeting your friends." He stated as he got into his car and I shrugged.

"You say that now but you are going to have to wait until you meet them to make the final call."

"Are you trying to tell me that your friends are that bad?" He asked and I shrugged.

"I guess you are going to have to wait and see." I stated and he smiled.

"I guess I have to." Jesse said as he flipped on the radio.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said as I settled against the seat and he nodded.

"Of course, ask me anything, it doesn't necessarily mean that I will answer though." He stated.

"How many girls have you dated?" I asked.

"If I answer this question then you have to answer my question." He stated and I nodded.

"Seems fair, now dish."

"Well let me ask you, what do you consider dating? Because there might be some girls that I have gone out with that I wouldn't have considered myself as dating but you might include them in your definition."

"Just tell me the girls that you consider yourself as dating. I really don't want to get into your one night stand details." I joked and he smirked.

"Thirteen."

"That's a lot of girls."

"There were more but you told me to leave out one night stands."

"Great so you are a player and a man whore." I commented.

"And I just keep adding to that list huh?" Jesse asked and I laughed being as he was being a good sport about everything.

"And for some reason there is something about these qualities that makes me like you." I said.

"You like me?" He asked and I blushed wildly realizing what I had just done.

"I said that out loud didn't I?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Yeah you did, so you like me?" He asked again and I sighed.

"I-I, yes." I stated and I could see Jesse smirk.

"Really?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yes really. I hope you don't think that this is lame because we have only known each other for like a week."

"I think I like you too, so no it's not lame." Jesse said and I couldn't help but blush.

"And you're not just playing me? Because either way I am joining VA." I stated and he shook his head.

"Me, play you? Never."

"Good, now can we please change the radio station to something other than classic rock?" I asked trying to change the subject and he nodded.

"Whatever you want, my lady." Jesse joked and I just ignored his comment and changed the station.

It took longer than usual to get to Quinn's house but that was due to the fact that Jesse insisted that his GPS knew how to get to Quinn's house better than I did even though I had been there millions of times and she was my friend. I could tell that Jesse was a little surprised when we pulled up to Quinn's house, I knew that the first time I had gone to Quinn's house I felt the same way. I'm sure what he had been expecting was some small little town home where some lower middle class family lived, but that was not the case.

"So much for Lima loser." He commented as he put the car in park and I just smiled.

"Told you." I said smugly as I un did my seat belt and got out of the car.

"You are friends with the rich girls huh?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"You haven't even seen where I lived, I was one of those rich girls, I just don't flaunt it."

"Then we must see your house so that I can get the full scope of this Rachel Anderson that I am getting to know."

"Maybe another time." I said as I rang the doorbell.

"Finally!" Quinn remarked as she pulled the door open.

"Yeah well if my car didn't die I would have made it on time. Anyway this is Jesse, Jesse this is Quinn."

"It's nice to meet you Quinn." Jesse said extending his hand and Quinn just looked at his hand and laughed.

"Formal huh? Come on everyone is waiting." Quinn said walking towards the living room.

"What's with her?" Jesse whispered and I just laughed.

"That is just the way Quinn is, and don't expect too much more from Santana, she bites, although I am pretty sure she was just vaccinated so you should be good."

"Wait what? Are you talking about a dog?" He asked and I shook my head.

"No, Santana is a firey Latina, and don't look her in the eyes." I said as I walked ahead of him.

"You're joking right?" He asked and I just smiled as we came into the living room where Santana and Brittany were talking.

"Look what the cat dragged in, and it's nice to see you Rachel." Santana said from where she was sitting and Jesse just stuck close to me.

"Guys this is Jesse, be nice. Jesse that is Santana and Brittany" I said pointing them out as I took a seat on the floor across from where they were seated on the couch and Jesse did the same as he gently waved to the both of them.

"So this is the infamous Jesse we all have been dying to meet." Santana said moving over a bit so Quinn could sit next to her.

"I'm infamous?" Jesse asked with a smirk and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't get the wrong idea, being infamous around here isn't a good thing." Brittany stated.

"Hey are you needed somewhere?" Quinn asked and Jesse shook his head.

"No, why are you asking?" Jesse remarked and Quinn shrugged.

"Well your phone has been going off like crazy so I figured it must be important."

"How did can you tell that my phone is going off?" Jesse asked as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it.

"It was sticking out of your pocket and I could see it light up, so tell me who is this mystery caller? Is it some mystery lover that you are trying to hide from everyone?" Quinn asked and Jesse sighed as he looked over at me.

"It's Ms. Corcoran, I forgot that I was suppose to meet with her today to start working on the set list for invitationals." Jesse replied as he went to pocket his phone again.

"If you need to talk to her you can, I mean I don't want to be the reason she is mad at you." I stated and Jesse smiled.

"I'll be back in a minute." He said as he got up and left the room and I turned to the girls sitting across from me.

"Now that he is out of the room, tell me what you think."

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

I was throughly annoyed that Jesse had not shown up at my house like he was requested to do. And of all the times that he could bail on me it had to be when I was having both leads over. Right now as I was trying to reach Jesse, Giselle was lounging on my couch flipping through my song books.

"Ms. Corcoran, if Jesse isn't going to show up can I just go?" Giselle asked and I sighed.

"Go, but we are going to have to make this meeting up..."

"But I showed up, can't you and Jesse just decide? I mean you never listen to my suggestions anyway." Giselle whined and I just rubbed my temples in frustration.

"Just go." I stated and she smirked.

"Fantastic, I can still catch a movie with my friends." She said as she grabbed her jacket and headed towards the door as my phone started to ring.

"Bye Giselle." I said as I ushered her out of the door and grabbed my phone not really caring who was on the other line.

"Hello?" I answered, relieved that Giselle was gone.

"It's Jesse, sorry I got tied up today but I have some news..."

"Oh you better have more than just news St. James. Do you even realize how long I have been stuck with Giselle alone in my place?" I asked and I heard him sigh.

"Look I'm sorry I forgot but something came up."

"What is this something?" I asked as I crashed on my couch.

"Rachel, her car broke down at a gas station..."

"And let me guess you just happened to be there."

"Yes but that led to her telling me that she is joining VA. You got your new female lead." Jesse remarked and I sat up.

"She what?"

"We were talking and she told me that she decided to join Vocal Adrenaline and then I drove her to Lima."

"Wait why?" I asked throughly confused and excited at the same time.

"She was heading to Lima before her car broke down and well I sort of like her."

"You more than like her, you fell for your mark." I stated and I heard him sigh.

"My mark? That is one way to put it and it was hard not to, she is perfect. The only thing that is missing right now is her singing, add that in and she would be the female version of me."

"So you are in Lima right now?"

"Yeah, we are at her friend's house. May I say that her friends are like super rich and snotty, she really isn't going to have any problem with the VA kids. So what should I do?" Jesse asked.

"Hang up and go back in there. I will see you tomorrow at noon, don't be late."

"Should I bring Rach?" He asked and I grimaced at his nickname for her.

"Rach, you already have nickname for her? You know what, do whatever you want. Just make sure that you are here at noon, no exceptions." I stated as I shifted on the couch in order to get more comfortable.

"Alright I will talk to her and see what she wants to do, and I told you I would get her to join."

"I'm sure her decision to join was based solely on you."

"You can't prove otherwise." Jesse remarked and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah well go back and hang out with her and I will get everything ready for tomorrow."

"Alright, see you then Coach C." Jesse replied.

"Bye." I said as I hung up the phone and tossed it on the table across from the couch.

"I have Rachel." I said to myself and I couldn't help but smile.

After this past week I wasn't sure if Rachel would ever join. Jesse was making his feeble attempts to befriend, or seduce her and what not and Rachel didn't really seem interested. Something had to have changed in order for her to have made the choice to join but in reality I really didn't care what it was that changed. All that mattered to me was that Rachel was joining.

I laid back down on the couch that was barely used and took a deep breath. I allowed myself only a few minutes every week to have down time and I was going to take the opportunity right now to just relax for a minute. It didn't last too long. Soon my thoughts of Rachel Anderson turned to thoughts of Rachel Berry, the daughter that I gave up.

It seemed like everyone else believed that when the time was right Rachel would just walk into my life and I was the only one who believed in having to look for her. Jennifer was stuck on the fact that Rachel Anderson was my daughter but I wasn't convinced. Yes she looked like me, and her voice was amazing, but there were pieces that didn't fit.

No matter what issues Rachel and her family were having, she had her parents, a mother and a father. I had checked the paper work at the school. There were two signatures on her papers, a Mr. and _MRS_. Anderson. My Rachel has two dads, I was her mother, her _only_ mother.

As easy as it would be for me to believe that Anderson was my daughter I had to check the facts and realize that she wasn't and I couldn't let my mind believe otherwise. I sighed as I rolled off the couch and grabbed my phone so that I could call Jennifer and let her know that I won out bet and she owed me dinner. It was yet another way to keep myself busy so that my daughter was the last thing on my mind, like she always was, because if she wasn't I might just die from the pain that I felt.

A/n: SO I wasn't going to post this chapter until I finished another chapter but I started school again and I didn't want to take forever to post so here it is!

-Katie


	4. Chapter 4

**Rachel's POV:**

I was still asleep in my bed when my phone went off and I groaned as I reached over to answer it.

"Hello?" I answered.

"You're still in bed aren't you?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, now why are you bothering me? I was going for a new personal sleep record where I just don't wake up, no matter what." I stated and he sighed.

"Did you forget that we are going to Ms. Corcoran's today and by today I mean in like twenty minutes? I just pulled up outside your house waiting to pick you up." He commented and I shot up.

"Crap, I totally forgot, give me a minute and I will be right there." I stated as I sprung out of bed and pulled my hair back into a pony tail, brushed my teeth, and then grabbed my shoes as I ran out the door not really caring what I looked like.

I quickly made my way to Jesse's car having to run on my toes through the wet grass so I didn't get my feet all nasty. I mean I liked Jesse a lot so there was no way that I was going to look like a complete mess in front of him. Being in my pajamas was bad enough.

"Messy, I guess that can work." Jesse said as he opened the passenger side door for me and I rolled my eyes.

"You were the one who assumed that I would remember that I had something to do today so my outfit is all your fault." I said as I slipped my first shoe on and I worked on tying it.

"Well at least you look half way decent, did you sleep in that?" He asked as he started the car and I nodded.

"I did." I said as I finished putting my shoes on and I quickly sent a text to my aunt to let her know that I would be out of the house for most of the day.

"You know you could have taken like five more minutes and have actually gotten dressed." Jesse stated.

"Five minutes might have gotten me into makeup territory, I would have needed at least half an hour in order to accomplish putting on a decent outfit."

"God you are such a girl." Jesse joked and I smiled.

"Thank you. So tell me again why we are going to Ms. Corcoran's place?" I asked and he sighed.

"You do not listen do you?" He asked and I shrugged.

"You know everyone has been telling me that so apparently not. So why?" I asked again.

"Every few weeks Ms. Corcoran invites a few select students over to go over a bunch of songs and we sing through a couple of them and narrow down a list that we want to perform and work on and she will choose from that list and make the set list for the upcoming competition."

"So why am I going?" I asked.

"Because I invited you and you said you would go. Plus you have to get your stuff for rehearsal tomorrow."

"Stuff?" I asked and he grinned.

"You didn't think that we rehearsed in normal clothes did you?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, that was what you wore last week."

"That was only because we had shorter rehearsals so she didn't want to waste time with changing. Usually we have a set outfit that we have to wear so that she can tell if we are all doing the number right. If you make us all look the same it is easier to tell when someone is off."

"Great so lets add losing all individuality to the list of reasons why I shouldn't have joined." I joked and Jesse smirked as he shook his head.

"I think you are really going to like it." He stated as we pulled into the parking lot for some high end condos in Akron.

I could tell that the place was nice just by walking up to it. Ms. Corcoran was one for privacy which was probably why she had a condo on the top floor away from everyone else. Jesse knocked on the door while I waited silently beside him cursing myself for ever agreeing to this.

"Great you're on time, the music is in the kitchen grab a binder and make yourselves comfortable, but from the looks of it that won't be a problem for one of you." Ms. Corcoran said as she pulled the door open eyeing Jesse and I as we walked inside.

Ms. Corcoran closed the door behind us and then took off in another direction leaving Jesse and I to our own devices.

"Is she always this informal?" I asked as we walked into the kitchen and he shook his head.

"Usually she is all over us with her hovering and crap but I think that is only because Giselle is so damn nosey."

"Wait Giselle as in the girl who butchered all those songs?" I asked as I grabbed a binder and started to flip through the songs.

"Yeah that's the one, she used to be the female lead of VA." Jesse said and I looked up at him.

"Used to be? I was pretty sure she still was."

"She was until yesterday when you told Jesse that you finally decided to join. Sorry for ease dropping I just had to grab my notepad." Ms. Corcoran said as she walked over and sat down next to Jesse.

"Wait I never agreed to be the lead." I stated closing the binder and Jesse and Ms. Corcoran both sighed.

"She really doesn't get how this works does she?" Ms. Corcoran asked and Jesse just looked at me.

"Lead isn't something that you get to choose to be or not to be, Ms. Corcoran just chooses the leads and that is that."

"Well that is great and all but I don't think Ms. Corcoran's choice is going to help Giselle be any less mad at me."

"She won't be mad, we are having auditions for the new leads tomorrow and she knows that. The only thing that she doesn't know is that you joined..."

"Auditions? I thought you said that Ms. Corcoran just chooses the leads." I said and Jesse looked over at Ms. Corcoran.

"I do, auditions are just a formality for when people say I am playing favorites. Anyway lets just get back to looking through the music." She said and I re-opened the binder that I closed earlier.

"Do you have like every song ever written?" I asked and Ms. Corcoran shook her head.

"No, I only invest in the ones that I like."

"Invest?" I asked.

"The school had to buy the rights to these songs so that we are able to perform them. That being said pick out the ones that you like and move them to the empty binder in the center of the table, and Jesse please pick out something other than what suits your voice." She said as she grabbed a binder for herself and started to flip through the songs.

It was about two and a half hours later that we migrated into Shelby's piano room. Jesse sat down on the piano bench and Shelby stood a few feet away from us as I leaned on the lid of the piano looking at the sheet music.

"Okay so now we narrow down our selections. Jesse would you like to choose the first piece?" She asked and Jesse nodded.

"I think that Rachel should sing Beautiful Disaster to start us off." He said with a smirk.

"If I have to sing that then you have to sing Bohemian Rhapsody right after."

"I don't-"

"That is a great idea." Ms. Corcoran said ending Jesse's rising protest.

"Alright, would you like me to play the piano for you?" Jesse asked and I looked around the room and shook my head.

"No thanks. Ms. Corcoran would you mind if I used your guitar?" I asked and she shook her head.

"Not at all, go ahead." She said as she walked over and grabbed it and handed it to me.

I took my time with the song. I made sure that I put the feeling behind the song that it needed in order to convey the message and when I finished I opened my eyes and saw Jesse and Ms. Corcoran share a smile.

"So what did you think?" I asked as I walked the guitar over to where Ms. Corcoran had gotten it from.

"I think that you are getting a solo at invitationals for sure. Maybe not that song in particular but you will be singing something." Ms. Corcoran said and I smirked as I turned to Jesse.

"Your turn." I stated and Jesse stuck his tongue out as he set his hands on the piano and played a few notes before he started on Bohemian Rhapsody.

Jesse and I continued singing through the different songs for a while before Ms. Corcoran stopped us.

"It's getting late, would you guys like pizza for a late lunch early dinner thing and then pick this up in about an hour or so?" Ms. Corcoran asked and Jesse and I looked at each other before we nodded.

"The only thing is that I am a vegetarian." I stated and Ms. Corcoran smiled.

"That is no problem. Why don't you two head into the living room and I will be there as soon as I order the pizza." Ms. Corcoran said as she stepped out of the room and Jesse and I made our way into her living room.

"Ms. Corcoran is being rather chill." I stated and Jesse smirked.

"Yeah she usually is when she isn't stressing out about everything that needs to get done. Do you want something to drink? I know that I am parched." Jesse said as he shifted on the couch and I shrugged.

"I mean I guess I could go for something to drink." I said and he got up and gestured for me to follow suit.

"Lets go grab something." He said as we made our way into the kitchen.

"Shouldn't we wait for Ms. Corcoran?" I asked and Jesse shook his head.

"She won't care, so what would you like?" He asked as he pulled the door to her fridge open.

"Water." I said as I looked upon her selection of RedBull, water, and wine.

"I guess I have to do the same being as we have a little bit of a bet going on." He said as he grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge.

"And what is this bet?" I heard Ms. Corcoran ask from behind us and Jesse and I quickly turned to face her.

"Rachel and I are trying to see who can last the longest without RedBull." Jesse stated as he handed me the water.

"I see that lasting all of five minutes come tomorrow's rehearsal. Which reminds me I have to grab your stuff Rachel. Jesse can you grab me a water and I will be right back." She said as she quickly walked out of the kitchen and Jesse went back to the fridge and grabbed a third bottle of water.

"She seems a little spaced." I stated as I leaned on the counter and Jesse nodded.

"She hates not being busy, that is part of the reason that she runs us ragged in rehearsals. She has no family so we don't get to see ours. That is also part of the reason that her and I relate so much. I mean I have a family and I guess in a way so does she but we both would rather put our time and energy into our work so we didn't have to deal with them."

"That sounds sad." I stated and Jesse shrugged.

"You get used to it."

"I guess so. I've gotten to know that feeling very well in the past few months."

"Okay so Rachel I had to guess on your sizes so please let me know if anything doesn't fit... Why does it feel like I just interrupted something?" Ms. Corcoran asked as she placed a black gym bag on the table.

"Because you did, as usual. Anyway you were saying about the whole guessing her size thing?" Jesse asked.

"Um, yeah the sizes might not be right but other than that you have every outfit that you could possibly need and I am going to need your phone number so that I can text you and let you know what to wear and when. Also I need to go over some paper work with you."

"What kind of paperwork?" I asked.

"Lets move into the living room and we can go over it, and I will take my water now." Ms. Corcoran said as she turned and walked out of the room leaving Jesse and I to follow after her.

Ms. Corcoran took a seat on one end of the couch and I sat next to her while Jesse sat on the arm of the couch for a mere second before he got a phone call and had to excuse himself.

"So what is this paper work that we have to go over Ms. Corcoran?"

"First of all when we aren't in school or in rehearsal you can just call me Shelby, Ms. Corcoran is too formal and I will only have you call me that outside a of school function if you are in trouble. Secondly this is just a standard activity contract stating that you and your parents agree with the terms and conditions that I have laid out. It's fairly simple, I can read through it with you if you want." She offered and I shook my head.

"That's not necessary I will just have them look through it later."

"You also need to sign it just so that you don't fight me on my rules. I have everyone do it. Rachel can I ask you a question?" Shelby asked as she shifted on the couch.

"I guess that would be alright." I said as I brushed a strand of my hair out of my face.

"You don't feel like I am forcing you into this do you? I mean don't get me wrong I want you to join Vocal Adrenaline, but the last thing I want is for you to feel like you don't have a say in this whole thing." Shelby said and I couldn't help but smile a little bit.

"No I don't feel like I am being forced into this whole thing. I mean you and Jesse, well especially Jesse, were very persistent, but I don't feel like I was being forced into this. You don't know me very well yet but give it some time and you will see that I don't do anything that I don't want to do."

"I think you and I are going to get along just fine." Shelby said with a smile.

"So what did I miss?" Jesse asked as he walked back into the room.

"Nothing much. Rachel and I talked and we have decided that she is going to be doing all the solos for the rest of the season." Shelby said with a straight face and I nodded playing along with her game.

"You can't be serious. I have seniority on this team, some new kid can't just sweep in and take my spot, this is ludicrous!" Jesse exclaimed and Shelby just shrugged.

"You know what happens when you leave in the middle of an important discussion." Shelby stated and Jesse looked at me.

"Please tell me that she is joking." Jesse said and I shrugged.

"Technically there are auditions tomorrow but you know I heard those were just a formality." I stated and Shelby started laughing when a look of complete terror crossed Jesse's face.

"Sorry I just couldn't help it, his face was just too terrified to not laugh." Shelby said and Jesse glared at me.

"I can't believe you lied to me!" Jesse said and I shrugged.

"You would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed." I stated and he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

Rachel, Jesse, and I talked for a while until the pizza guy got there and then I got up to answer the door. I ended up getting a cheese pizza for us to split along with a salad for myself being as I had been loading up on junk food the last couple of days.

"Alright help yourself to the pizza and I just have to grab a fork for my salad." I said as I set the pizza on the table in the living room and then quickly walked off into the kitchen.

I grabbed a fork and some napkins and returned to find Jesse putting a movie into my DVD player while Rachel carefully ate a piece of her pizza.

"What is going on?" I asked and Jesse looked back at me.

"Oh well Rachel and I thought that maybe we could watch a movie while we ate, I mean as soon as we are done eating we can turn it off..."

"Go ahead." I said as I sat down not really caring what they did while we were eating.

I should have known that as soon as I agreed to letting them watch a movie while we were eating they would end up talking me into letting them finish the movie after we were done. I mean what started out as a day where we were actually getting things done turned into them having a date on my couch.

"I'm going to clean up, please don't procreate on my couches, they're new." I said as I walked out of the room with the empty pizza box and the dirty napkins and other trash.

I was in the middle of cleaning off my counters when Jennifer called and I answered my phone.

"Hey Jen." I said as I clutched the device between my ear and my shoulder so I could continue what I was doing.

"Hey Shel, so what are you doing?" She asked and I sighed.

"Right now, babysitting." I stated and she laughed.

"I thought that Rachel and Jesse were coming over to work on that set list thing that you needed." She said.

"They did come over and we got some work done but right now they are cuddled on my couch watching a movie. Since when did setting up a set list turn into lets have a date on our coaches couch?" I asked.

"You were the one who allowed this to happen." Jennifer remarked.

"I didn't allow anything to happen, it just happened. I mean one moment I offered to order pizza being as it was getting late and now its this."

"Yeah well that is a teenager for you, just think of this as practice."

"Practice for what?" I asked not getting what she was talking about.

"Well for Rachel, or that new kid you are going to adopt when you don't find her."

"You mean _if_ I don't find her." I corrected.

"Yeah, what ever. What time is it anyway, shouldn't they be getting home?" Jennifer asked and I turned and looked at the clock on the microwave.

"It's only like seven."

"Didn't they come over at noon?" She asked.

"Yes, and your point is?"

"Let the kids go home. You had them for seven hours already, no wonder why they wanted to watch a movie, they probably just wanted to get away from you." Jennifer teased.

"Oh whatever."

"Maybe you should get back to them. I mean you have been away from them for like five minutes. In that amount of time they might have created the next generation of Vocal Adrenaline mutants." Jennifer stated.

"I'm hanging up now because you are being stupid not because you are right." I stated and she just laughed.

"I'm sure. Love you sis, call me when you get a chance so we can talk."

"I'll see you tomorrow, love you too." I said as I hung up the phone and walked back into the living room where Rachel was sleeping against Jesse and Jesse was texting someone on his phone.

"Your sister called?" Jesse asked and I nodded.

"She did, when did Rachel crash?" I asked and he looked over at her.

"I didn't know she did, I just thought she wanted to cuddle more." He stated and I rolled my eyes.

"Who are you texting?" I asked and he sighed.

"My mom. Apparently my parents want me home so we can stage an intervention for my brother and his addiction."

"Does that mean you need to leave?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Yeah, just let me wake up Rach and then we will be out of your hair." He said as he went to wake the sleeping brunette but I didn't have the heart to let him do it.

"You know what, just let her sleep a little bit more and I will wake her up and take her home when I am done working. I just have to sort through a few things so it will give her some more time to rest." I stated and Jesse shrugged as he slowly moved out from under Rachel.

"Suit yourself. Let her know that I had to do this stupid family thing and that I would have loved to take her home but she crashed. Also let her know that I will be at her house tomorrow morning to take her to school being as her car is in the shop." Jesse stated as he got up and I nodded as I followed him to the front door.

"I will. Let me know how everything goes with your brother and let me know if you need a place to crash this week as he goes through withdraw." I said and Jesse smiled.

"Thank you Shelby for everything and I will let you know if I end up needing a place to stay. Who knows, maybe the third time you go through a withdraw in a year its not as bad." He said and I offered him a gentle smile.

"One can hope." I said as I gave Jesse a hug before he walked out of the condo and I shut the door and headed into the piano room where I had left the notebook with song selections in it.

The first thing that I had to set up was invitationals. I knew that this was going to be a place where I could show off my performers but I didn't want people to see Rachel coming. Everyone already knew about Jesse so using him as to show off wouldn't be that impressive. I mean I loved those two, and together they were so much better, but I couldn't do it. I was going against everything that I believed in. I mean I always centered the entire performance around my leads but that wasn't going to be the case at invitationals. Giselle was going to sing the first song, Rachel and Jesse were just going to have to deal with that. I mean of course I would make it up to them at Sectionals but for now they were going to have to trust me.

With that decision behind me I went ahead and and scrawled out the songs that we needed to put together for invitationals that were a in few weeks and then I narrowed down my options for sectionals. It took me about an hour and when it was done I got up and went to go check on Rachel so that I could take her home being as it was getting late.

Rachel looked so peaceful on the couch and I couldn't help but smile at her appearance. Her hair was fanned out over the throw pillow that she landed on while her hands were tucked delicately under her face.

I bent down next to her head and lightly stroked her hair for a second before I pulled my hand away not wanting her to wake up and be freaked out by me touching her.

"Rachel." I said softly as I shoved her shoulder lightly hoping that she wouldn't be too hard to wake up, but she was proving to be a sound sleeper.

"Rachel." I repeated but louder this time and I saw her eyes flutter open slowly.

"What happened?" She asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"You fell asleep." I said with a smile as she looked at me and yawned.

"Where is Jesse?" She asked.

"He had to head home about an hour ago but he didn't want to wake you." I said and she nodded.

"I'm sorry that I fell asleep, I usually can stay awake during movies." She said standing up and fixing her hair a little bit.

"It's not a big deal. Trust me this is not the first time that I have had a student crash on my couch before and I doubt that it's the last. Come on it's getting late, you probably need to get home." I said as I guided her into the kitchen where I grabbed my keys and my wallet.

"You don't have to take me home, I can walk, it's not too far." Rachel said and I shook my head.

"It's late and dark out, you aren't walking." I said and she let out a sigh.

"Honestly I can walk..."

"You aren't walking, now lets go." I said as I opened the front door and she didn't argue anymore, she just grabbed the bag that I gave her earlier and walked out of my condo and waited for me to lock the door.

When we got to my car I unlocked the doors and Rachel got in and put on her seatbelt as she waited for me to start the car.

"So you were talking about me taking vocal lessons again." Rachel said and I nodded.

"I mentioned it." I replied and she looked over at me as I pulled out of my parking spot and drove out of the parking lot.

"Would you know someone I can take lessons with? I think that would be something that I would like to do." She said and I smiled at how she seemed to really be getting into singing again.

"I know a few people who give lessons but I don't know if they would be right for you." I said and she sighed.

"That was the problem that I was having before I quit all together." She said.

"When do you have your free period?" I asked.

"Right before lunch, why?" She asked.

"Well I happen to have one of my planning periods during that time and if you wanted I could tentatively give you vocal lessons. I mean you wouldn't pay for them and I would work your ass off but if you were dedicated I would be willing to do that for you." I said and she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment.

"Could we meet tomorrow so that we can go over the song that I want to do for my audition?" She asked and I nodded.

"Of course. Although you might want to bring a few options just to be sure that you pick the right song." I said and she shook her head.

"That won't be necessary, I know that the song I want to do is the perfect song." She said with a great air of confidence.

"Where am I going?" I asked and she pointed to the right.

"Thank you for this." She said and I shrugged.

"It's not a problem. The only thing that I was working on was the set lists so it wasn't like I was doing something that I couldn't stop and take you home." I said as she relaxed into the seat.

"Take a left at the next light. So how long have you been coaching? I mean I googled you earlier this week and it talked about a lot of your wins and stuff but the dates aren't there." She said and I sighed.

"I started coaching VA about, oh god what is it now, I think that this is my fifth year. The first year I was only an assistant coach. Prior to that I did private vocal lessons while I put myself through school and before that I tried broadway for a few years but that didn't exactly work out." I said and there was a small smile that crossed her face as she stared out the window.

"That's cool that you wanted to be on broadway, at one point I thought I wanted to be on broadway as well." She said and I nodded.

"You are good enough that you could make it." I said and she shook her head.

"It doesn't have to do with if I am good enough of not, it's more of the fact that I am not sure if that is what I want to do anymore. Its the third house on the right after the next stop sign." She said and I nodded as I followed her directions and came to a stop in front of her house.

"Again thanks for the ride." She said as she took off her seatbelt and grabbed her bag.

"No problem, and Jesse said that he will be here tomorrow morning to take you to school." I said and she nodded.

"Alright I will see you tomorrow I guess." She said.

"That you will, and don't forget to get your parents to sign those forms for me and you need to look over them as well." I said and she quickly nodded.

"Right, bye." She said as she got out of the car and walked up to the front door as I idled in front of her house.

I waited until she was inside before I put my car in drive and took off down her street with just one thing on my mind. Things with Rachel seemed so easy, almost natural. I needed to remind myself that things with Rachel had to remain professional, she was my student not anything else. Rachel Berry was my daughter, Rachel Anderson was just an illusion of what I would want my daughter to be. I knew in that moment that I needed to find Rachel Berry because if I didn't Rachel Anderson might just drive me over the edge.

**A/n: So I'm going to be nice and post this now instead of waiting until I finish what I am writing to post this! Who knows maybe I will be really nice and put another chapter up tomorrow? But who knows...**

**-Katie**


	5. Chapter 5

**Rachel's POV:**

The first week of being on Vocal Adrenaline was pure hell. I used to think that I was in shape but after a week with Ms. Corcoran I found out that I was far from it. To top the week off my audition for lead was flawless but as Shelby put it, 'her putting Giselle as the lead for invitationals was keeping me from an very unwelcoming surprise as far as Vocal Adrenaline was concerned'. I mean I guess that Ms. Corcoran was only doing me a favor but at the same time I deserved to be the lead.

"Where is Corcoran?" Giselle asked Jesse as she walked onto stage and Jesse shrugged.

"Don't know." Jesse replied as he stretched out his neck in preparation for today's activities.

"Wait if she isn't here that can only mean..." We all snapped out head in the direction in which the sound of the door slamming shut was heard.

"Everyone line up on stage, it's time to evaluate the misfits that Corcoran wants me to perfect this year!" A voice raged and we all ran to line up on stage.

"Who is that?" I asked as we lined up and Jesse sighed.

"That would be Dakota Stanley, one of the best choreographers in history, but a complete and total ass, and that is coming from me." Jesse whispered as a man the size of a fifth grader walked onto stage.

"Leads, where are my leads?" He asked as Jesse and Giselle stepped forward.

"Lets start with you." He said as he stepped towards Giselle and she stood up straighter trying not to look intimidated. "You must have been chosen for your voice because your looks aren't getting you anywhere." He stated.

"I-"

"No, that wasn't a question. Now St. James that is what I call a lead. Good work on maintaing what we have worked so hard on in the past few years. Step back in line." He said and Giselle and Jesse both stepped back into place.

He walked up and down the line shaking his head before he just stopped and sighed as he grabbed his bag and pulled out a stack of folders.

"Now it seems like Ms. Corcoran enjoys giving me a challenge so lets get started." He said as he walked to the end of the line and handed Andrea and Giselle a packet along with a few other girls around them. "In these packets you will find your new menu for the next few months along with any other suggestions that I have for you."

"Suggestions?" Jessica, a new girl on the team, asked.

"Yes like for you, cut and dye that mane of yours. No one wants to look at someone who looks like they have grease pouring out of their head. And you..." He said pointing at me. "Ehh..nose job." He said making my totally outraged as he continued naming people's flaws. Finally I had enough and I took a step forward.

"Barbra Streisand." I said and there was a collective gasp from the group as Dakota turned to face me.

"What?" Dakota asked and I smirked.

"Barbara Streisand." I repeated and he gave me a perplexed look.

"I don't get it." He said placing his hands on his hips.

"When she was first starting out everyone told her that she couldn't make it in the industry without getting a nose job, and look at where she is now..."

"She is the exception not the rule." Dakota said.

"And whose to say that I can't be the exception as well, we all could be the exceptions couldn't we?" I asked and he rolled his eyes.

"Trust me you aren't the exception." He said giving me the once over.

"You can't prove that." I spat back and he looked over at Jesse before he returned to look at me again.

"This is my stage I don't have to prove anything." He stated and I went to say something else when I felt Jesse's hand clamp over my mouth.

"We'll be right back." He said as he dragged me off stage.

"You better be, and make sure she knows her place or tell her not to bother returning!" He called after us.

When we were safely backstage Jesse took his hand off my mouth and clamped both of his hands on my arms so I couldn't go back onto stage and give that dwarf a piece of my mind.

"Let go of me!" I hissed and Jesse shook his head.

"For your safety and for the safety of Dakota I can't do that." He said and I just glared at him.

"Let me go St. James or Dakota won't be the only one paying for what he said to me." I stated and Jesse sighed.

"Rachel he is an ass to everyone, you can't take it personally." Jesse said and I shook my head.

"He knows nothing about me and I don't need a nose job." I stated and Jesse nodded.

"I know, but we just have to get through rehearsal with him for the next couple of days and then he will be gone and Shelby will be back to beat the crap out of us again. He just choreographs for us when we are in a time crunch and we have invitationals at the end of the week."

"Fine, I'm fine." I said and Jesse smiled.

"Good now I am going to let you go and then we are going to return to the stage and all you are going to do is keep your mouth shut and make it through rehearsal, okay?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah I understand." I said and he dropped his hands and I took off towards the stage before he could grab me again.

"You're back, I hope you came willing to work." Dakota said and I shook my head.

"No I haven't." I stated as Jesse came to an abrupt stop behind me realizing that he was too late. "You are an ass who is arrogant and conceited and you have no right to be. You weren't even successful in your own endeavors..."

"I-"

"No that wasn't a question."

"Get off my stage!" Dakota screamed and I smiled.

"Happily, oh and one more thing." I stated as he glared up at me.

"What is that?" He asked and I smirked.

"I'm taller than you and your talent!" I stated as I held my head up and walked off the stage just in time to turn and see Dakota storm off stage to a chorus of laughter. When he was gone the group exploded into cheers, excluding Jesse who just shook his head at me before he went and walked off stage following Dakota.

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

I had just finished arranging the vocals for a song I wanted to try before regionals when an angry Dakota Stanley stormed into my office.

"I thought you were running rehearsal." I stated not looking up from the sheet music that was in front of me.

"I was and then I had the pleasure of meeting one of your newest recruits."

"Who?" I asked as I laid my pencil down and Dakota flopped into a chair across from me.

"The petite brunette with the honker of a nose." He stated and I instantly knew who he was talking about.

"What did Rachel do?" I asked and he sighed.

"She was insulting and had me laughed off of the stage. I can't go back in there, not with that girl there."

"That doesn't sound like a typical Rachel thing to do, what did you say?" I asked knowing that Dakota had a habit of being harsh beyond reason at times.

"All I said was that she needed a nose job and she went all Barbara Streisand on me."

"She went Barbara Streisand on you?" I asked and he nodded.

"Over a nose job."

"Well first off you have no right to tell her she needs a nose job. She is one of my star signers and the fact that you are telling any of my performers to get plastic surgery is appalling. Those kids in there are in a stage of their life where their bodies are still changing..."

"Trust me when I say that her nose isn't changing without a skilled surgeon." Dakota said and I glared at him.

"Last year you told Kristen, who was sixteen at the time, to get breast implants."

"And doesn't she look so much better?" He asked.

"She never got the surgery." I stated.

"Okay so I was wrong about that one..."

"Do you realize that her parents almost sued the school for that and my job was threatened?" I asked and Dakota rolled his eyes.

"Like you would ever be fired, you built this team." He stated.

"Here's the deal Dakota you are not to rehearse alone with my performers again. I will be supervising rehearsal from now on. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and let you rehearse again with them but this was the last straw."

"What about that girl?" He asked and I sighed.

"I will deal with Rachel, but now that we have lost an entire days rehearsal I recommend that you put together a fantastic routine that I could never dream of putting together or your days with Vocal Adrenaline are numbered, now leave." I stated and Dakota got up and walked out of my office and I rubbed my temples as Jesse slipped through the door.

"What exactly happened?" I asked as Jesse shut my office door and took a seat.

"Dakota was being himself and Rachel took it personally."

"So he told her to get a nose job?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Yes, and while I do not support what she did I was impressed that she stood up for herself." Jesse said and I nodded.

"Me too but what exactly did she say that sent him storming into my office?" I asked and Jesse laughed.

"Well after a rant about Barbara Streisand she told him that she was taller than him, and his talent." Jesse said and I couldn't help but smirk.

"How am I suppose to punish someone who isn't wrong?" I asked and Jesse shrugged.

"Don't know, I'm just glad that I'm not you." Jesse said and I pointed to the door.

"Don't take this the wrong way but please leave, and if you see Rachel send her in here, if not I will deal with her in the morning." I said and Jesse smiled.

"I'll let her know." He said as he exited the office and I rested my head on the desk and clenched my eyes shut. This was not what I expected when I hired Dakota to come in today to work.

It was about ten minutes later that there was a soft knock on the door and I looked up to see Rachel standing there and I let out a small sigh.

"Come in." I said and she slowly made her way into my office.

"How much trouble am I in?" She asked and I gestured to the chair across from me that seemed to be getting a lot of visitors today.

"Take a seat and lets talk." I said and she let out a small sigh as she took a seat.

"Can I just say that I'm not sorry about what I did, yes it was wrong but Dakota is an ass." She stated and I nodded.

"He is but he was someone that I hired to come in and work with the group and due to your actions today we lost a day of rehearsing and we have a performance at the end of the week."

"He didn't have to leave, we still could have gotten rehearsal in if he wasn't so immature and he could take what he dishes to everyone else." Rachel stated.

"And if you could have pushed your emotions to the side for a moment we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"So you are siding with him? Should I just run out and schedule an appointment with a plastic surgeon tonight?" Rachel sassed and I gave her a look.

"That is not what I meant and you know that. He was wrong to tell you that you need to get a nose job but you were wrong to disrupt rehearsal. What you should have done was ignore him and come to me as soon as rehearsal was over and report the incident to me." I said and Rachel nodded.

"Alright so what now?" She asked.

"Come in at five tomorrow morning." I said and Rachel gave me a confused look.

"Why?" She asked and I smiled.

"Don't question, just do." I stated and Rachel shook her head as she got up.

"Fine as long as I don't have to apologize to that elf." She said and I smirked.

"You and Dakota don't have to like each other, you just have to work together."

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

I had to wake up at four in the morning in order to get ready in time to make it to Carmel in order to meet Ms. Corcoran. Being as my car wasn't fixed yet and there was no Range Rover given to me, although the other recruits already had theirs, I had to beg and plead with Jesse to take me so I didn't have to tell my aunt what had happened.

Jesse was less than thrilled as I got into his car at four thirty in the morning. He grumbled a few things at me as he drove towards the school and I just focused on staying awake. It wasn't until we pulled into the parking lot and parked next to Ms. Corcoran's car that I started to freak out.

"Oh god, what is she going to do to me?" I asked as we got out of the car and Jesse sighed.

"Nothing horrible, trust me Rachel she isn't going to want to scare you off this early into the season." Jesse said finally being able to form a complete sentence.

"You do realize that in the contract that I signed I am not able to leave Vocal Adrenaline, I can only be kicked out." I stated and Jesse cocked his head to the side.

"Huh, that explains a lot." He said as we walked into the school and I rolled my eyes.

"Am I the only person to actually read the contract?" I asked and he nodded.

"Pretty much, everyone else was probably just excited that they were on the team that they signed the thing and then forged their parent's signatures so they could turn it in within the hour." He said and I sighed.

"You do realize that there could have been a lot worse things in the contract?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Yeah but as long as you don't get in trouble it doesn't really matter." He said as we stopped in front of Ms. Corcoran's office where we could see the lights on.

"I'll see you later." I said and he nodded.

"Yep and if you need me I am going to be sleeping in my car." He said as he gave me a quick hug before he walked down the hallway and I knocked on Ms. Corcoran's door.

"Come in!" I heard her call and I opened her door and walked inside. "Do you have your rehearsal clothes with you?" She asked as she got up and grabbed her coffee off her desk, unusually happy for this ungodly hour in the morning.

"Yes." I answered and she smiled.

"Good come with me." She said as we walked out of her office and down the hall.

"Can I ask where we are going?" I questioned and she smiled.

"Yes you can ask but it doesn't mean that I will answer." Ms. Corcoran said and I shook my head.

"So you aren't going to tell me anything about what I am going to be doing?" I asked.

"I will tell you but not right now. Go change into a pair of shorts and a tank top, leave on your sneakers." She said as she leaned against the wall outside of the bathroom.

"I'll be back." I said as I walked into the restroom.

I took my time with changing. I figured that if I was here for a punishment there was no reason to rush to get to it. When I was finally dressed I packed my things back into my bag and then walked out to where Ms. Corcoran was waiting.

"That took ten minutes." She said as she pushed herself off the wall and I just shrugged.

"I didn't time myself." I stated and she rolled her eyes.

"Come on." She said and I threw my bag over my shoulder and followed her down the hall.

We finally came to a stop as soon as we reached the track. Being as the sun was just starting to come up and it was still dark out the track was being lit by the stadium lights.

"Am I running laps?" I asked knowing that if that was the punishment it was going to be nothing being as coach Sylvester did much worse than that.

"No, running laps is harsh but it doesn't benefit you as a singers as much as what I am going to have you do does." Ms. Corcoran said as she walked to the end of the field.

"So what am I doing?" I asked as I placed my bag on the track and she smiled.

"I like to call them musical suicides."

"Musical what?" I asked and she shifted her weight and crossed her arms with her coffee still in hand.

"Do you know how to run suicides?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Good. You are going to run from the edge to the half way point back then all the way to the other side and back. There will be an active rest period where you will do twenty jumping jacks and then repeat. While you are doing this you get the privilege of singing scales. You will start in a comfortable range and then we will push your range a little further."

"How long do I do this for?" I asked and she smirked.

"I don't know, you don't time yourself." She said and I just shook my head as I got into a starting position.

"Do I get a starting pitch?" I asked and Ms. Corcoran nodded as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Of course."

I was into my tenth musical suicide when I was sure that I was going to die. Coach Corcoran was just standing there nursing her cup of coffee as I ran and sang and panted for air, but with each breath I felt like the air betrayed me. Each breath allowed me to go a little further and with each step I was allowed to take my body was set on fire. I knew that if she had me do this too much longer I might actually die.

"The width of the field is one hundred and sixty feet. In each suicide that you are running you run that distance three times. I will not tolerate you talking back to anyone I bring into rehearsals, the next time I won't stop at fifteen of these, you will be doing them until you collapse. You have three more left to do." Coach Corcoran said as I did my twenty jumping jacks of active rest.

I think of all the suicides that I ran the last three were the worst. Coach Corcoran wanted to see if I could expand my vocal range while seeing just how much torture my body could endure. When I was done I debated just lying on the field until I died but Ms. Corcoran handed me a bottle of water and led me over to the players bench and had me sit.

"How are you feeling?" She asked and I didn't dignify her with an answer I just looked up at her and glared and she let out a small laugh. "Stupid question, I got it. Look I spent all night thinking about how to enforce this punishment..."

"And you chose this?" I asked trying to control the burning in my chest.

"Effective don't you think?"

"It'll stick that's for sure." I said and she smiled.

"That's the point. You weren't wrong to be upset Rachel but you caused a scene that cost us a rehearsal yesterday. Now I know that invitationals doesn't seem like a big deal, and it's not but next time it won't be invitationals."

"I understand." I said and she smiled.

"Good, now I think that I should take you to the showers so you can get ready for school. Oh and we are still on for your lesson during your free period today so don't be late." She said as she got up and I grabbed my bag and followed her to the auditorium.

"So I still have a lesson even after all of this?" I asked and she nodded.

"That was a punishment, your lesson is a lesson."

"How did you even know that I would be on campus yesterday afternoon?" I asked and she stopped walking and faced me.

"Jesse has been the one taking you home being as you don't have a car, call it a lucky guess." She said with a laugh.

"Well for some reason everyone else in VA got a Range Rover but I didn't." I stated and she smirked.

"Hm, then I guess these would be your keys." She said as she pulled a set of keys out of her pocket.

"How long have you had those?" I asked and she smirked as she twirled them around her finger.

"I got them yesterday and I was going to let you have your car after rehearsal but that didn't happen."

"Can I have them now?" I asked and she smirked.

"Lets see how todays rehearsal goes and then I'll let you know. Now take a shower." She said as she led me into the VA backstage area.

I was able to take a quick shower in the nice facilities that VA had and when I was done I quickly made my way out to Jesse's car and banged on his window. It wasn't too long before Jesse unlocked the door and I pulled it open and revealed him lying on his seat with a jacket over his face.

"You are like a puppy, cute but seriously annoying."

"You think I'm cute?" I asked and he sat up with a smile as his jacket fell onto his lap.

"It's just like you leave out the part where I called you annoying." He said as he slid out of the car and I leaned against the passenger door as Jesse went about grabbing his stuff. "What did she end up making you do?" Jesse asked and I sighed.

"Musical suicides." I stated and Jesse just shook his head.

"Man I thought she only used those on me, how many?" He asked.

"Fifteen." I stated Jesse just stopped packing his things and looked at me.

"Seriously?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yes seriously and she told me that next time I will be doing them until I collapse." I stated.

"Damn, when I did them I only had to do seven and there was no threat attached." He stated.

"And that's suppose to make me feel better?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I'm not in the business of making people feel better, I'm just being honest."

"And on that note..."

"Rach, come on." Jesse said as he grabbed his arm and spun me to face him.

"I really have to go, oh and I won't need a ride home." I said but Jesse didn't let go of my arm.

"Why not?" He asked and I smiled.

"I'm not mad at you it's just that I am getting my Range Rover, finally." I said and Jesse let go of my arm and smiled.

"It's about time." He said and I nodded.

"It is. So are you going to walk me to class or what?" I asked and Jesse smirked.

"Lets go." Jesse said as he took my hand and we walked into school.

We stopped by my locker on the way to my first class and Jesse held my books as I organized my things in order to make it easier for me for the rest of the day. I closed my locker and then looked at Jesse who just smiled as we made eye contact.

"I want to ask you something." Jesse said as he took my bag from me which I was thankful for being as I was in a lot of pain.

"And what would that be?" I asked as I leaned against my locker.

"Will you be my girl friend?"

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

Rachel slowly walked into my classroom and took a seat at the piano bench.

"I hate you." She stated and I couldn't help but smirk as I leaned against the piano a few feet away from her.

"You may hate me now but just wait until you are in rehearsal this afternoon, you are going to REALLY hate me then." I said and Rachel sighed.

"Great, something else to look forward to." She stated and I laughed.

"So I want to go over a few songs that I think you could nail at sectionals..."

"I already have the song picked out that I want to sing for sectionals." Rachel stated and I gave her a look.

"Which song?" I asked.

"Don't Rain On My Parade. I've been singing it since I was two, well I sang it since I was two, but it hasn't been that long since I sang it last." Rachel said and I sighed.

"That's a tough song Rachel, I don't know..."

"Let me show you." Rachel said standing up and wincing a little bit.

"How about when you aren't in severe pain?" I asked with a laugh and she gave me a look.

"Sit." She said and I reluctantly obliged and took a seat in my desk chair allowing her to hook her ipod up to my speakers and then start the song.

It was amazing, she was amazing. I had seen her perform numerous times but this was perfection. The emotion that she was showing on her face was superb and there was no hint of the physical pain that she had to of been feeling. Her control and poise was remarkable and the song was a winner, there was no doubt about that. All it needed was one of my choreographed numbers and a little more refinement and this would blow everyone out of the water at sectionals.

"So?" Rachel asked and I nodded my head.

"That was good..."

"Good?" She asked a little disappointed and I smiled.

"That is going to be your solo number for sectionals, it is going to need some work but not too much." I said and her face lit up.

"Seriously?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes seriously. Now lets go back to the beginning and we are going to tear this piece apart and rebuild it from the ground up and you can take a seat for this." I said and Rachel smiled as she made her way over to the piano bench.

"Thank you."

Rachel was singing the song on a whole new level by the end of her lesson and I was excited about putting a routine together to complement the song for sectionals but in order to get there I was going to have to make it through the next week with Dakota.

I sat at my usual spot at the director's table while everyone stretched on their own on stage. I brought some work that needed to be done so that I had something to do during rehearsal. Dakota was still going to be running the entire rehearsal I was just here in case things got out of control again.

"Oh you were serious about being at my rehearsal." Dakota said as he dropped his bag next to me and I nodded.

"Usually when I say something I am very serious about it." I replied and he nodded.

"So did you deal with that demon child?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yes I dealt with Rachel." I said and he nodded.

"Good." He said as he walked over to the stage and started rehearsal.

For the most part rehearsal went off without a hitch. Dakota had come up with a decent routine that would wow the crowd at invitationals and Rachel kept herself in line and didn't say anything inappropriate during rehearsals.

It was about ten minutes until the end of rehearsal that I noticed someone sneak into the back of the auditorium and I silently walked over to where the boy was sitting and sat down next to him.

"These are private rehearsals." I said softly not taking my eyes off of the stage.

"Ms. Corcoran, I'm sorry. My cousin Rachel is in your club and I thought rehearsal would be over. My parents aren't home and I just wanted to hang out with someone..."

"Why didn't you go to Rachel's parent's house?" I asked and he gave me a look.

"Rachel's dads are dead." The boy said and I turned to look at him.

"But she had her parents sign her permission form, I checked the paper work myself."

"She had my parents sign her up for this school under the name Rachel Anderson, her real name is Rachel Berry and her dads died last year. She didn't tell you did she?" The kid asked and I shook my head as VA was dismissed by Dakota.

"No, she didn't." I stated and the kid chewed his bottom lip as I saw Rachel start making her way over to where we were sitting.

"Blaine what are you doing here? Ms. Corcoran I'm sorry he doesn't know that these are closed rehearsals."

"It's alright. Why don't you take these keys and take your cousin home." I said as I held out the keys to her Range Rover and Rachel's eyes filled with panic as she turned to Blaine.

"Blaine what did you tell her?" Rachel snapped and I could tell that her cousin was panicking so I stepped in.

"All he said was that he was your cousin and that he was staying with your family for a while. He said he forgot his key which was why he was here. Isn't that right?" I asked and Blaine nodded.

"Exactly." He stammered and Rachel gently took the keys from me.

"Again I'm sorry about this." She said and I just smiled.

"It's fine, just lets not have it happen again." I said and Rachel nodded.

"Of course. Come on Blaine lets go." She said as she ushered Blaine out and I walked down to the director's table and quickly gathered my things before I left the auditorium and drove to Jennifer's house.

I left everything in my car as I ran up to her front door and began banging loudly until Jennifer pulled the door open.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Jennifer asked with a glass of wine in her hand and I let the tears escape my eyes.

"Rachel Anderson is my daughter."

**A/n: This chapter as promised! I keep getting reviews that want them to find out about each other and SHOCKER it happened! But will it go any where from here? I guess you will have to wait and see...**

**:) Katie**


	6. Chapter 6

**Shelby's POV:**

"Okay so start from the beginning." Jennifer said as she handed me a glass of wine.

"Her cousin came into rehearsal and you know how I am about people sneaking into my rehearsals so I went to talk to him."

"But you didn't know he was her cousin at this point right?"

"Right. It was after I started talking to him that he told me that he was Rachel's cousin and that his parents weren't home so I asked why he didn't just go to Rachel's parents house and wait for her there and that was when he told me that her dads were dead and that her real name was Rachel Berry."

"Man that kid seems blunt. So in other words you found her?" Jennifer asked and I shrugged.

"Yeah I guess I did." I stated and Jennifer sighed.

"Why aren't you happy about this? I mean you should be excited and bouncing off the walls."

"I know but I can't tell her."

"Why not? She has no one Shel."

"Well first off she has her aunt and uncle and secondly how am I suppose to tell her that I am her mom?"

"I don't know, don't they sell books on this stuff or something?" Jennifer asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah didn't you see the bestselling book _How to tell your long lost daughter that you are her mom after she lost her two gay dads?_" I snapped.

"Okay Fido, back off." Jennifer said and I sighed.

"Sorry its just that she is like right there and there is nothing that I can do. I can't just tell her that I am her mom. I mean what if she doesn't want to be my daughter, she barely wanted to be my student?" I asked and Jennifer shook her head.

"Shelby she would love you but I guess this isn't something that you can just come out and tell someone. It would just be so much easier if she had found out you were her mom and came to you." Jennifer said and I nodded.

"Yeah it would have been."

"Too bad you can't tell if she ever got that tape you made her. I mean if she had the tape and then she heard you sing during a demonstration she would be able to tell you were her mom right away."

"Wait what?" I asked trying to process what Jennifer had just said.

"The tape that you made her before she was born. You gave it to her dads and if they actually gave it to her and she played it she would know you by your voice."

"That's it." I said putting my glass of wine down and pulling out my phone."

"Okay I feel like I missed something." Jennifer said as I sent a text to Jesse and then put my phone away.

"I'm going to get her to find me." I said with a smile and Jennifer gave me a look.

"How?" Jennifer asked and I sighed.

"My voice. I know that the tape has to be in that house with her other stuff, I am going to get Jesse to make her listen to it and then when she puts two and two together she will realize that I am her mom. That way she can choose if she wants to get to know me and I don't have to go through telling her and dealing with her reaction. The plan is perfect."

"What if the tape isn't there?" Jennifer asked.

"I'll make a new one, the same song and everything and then Jesse can plant it..."

"You're using Jesse again?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes but this time its not for evil, its so I can have my daughter."

"She might not see it that way." Jennifer said and I rolled my eyes.

"Well hopefully there will be no need to plant the tape and if there is then hopefully she won't find out." I stated and Jennifer laughed.

"Good luck with that." Jennifer said as I grasped my wine in my hands and leaned back.

"You know I never thought that I would find her. I looked for her for so long that honestly the last few months were just a surface search. I had given up hope of finding her a while ago."

"Maybe you were meant to find her. I mean maybe her dads led her to you." Jennifer stated.

"If you believe in that kind of stuff. Look I don't know what brought her to me but I am not going to let her go without a fight, I just want her to want me as much as I want her." I said and Jennifer wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

"She will want you, look at what she is doing now to please you."

"I doubt that is being done to please me in the least, she tolerates me as a coach and that is about it."

"She has to have some respect for you or she wouldn't have joined your team or stayed in your class. I went to her a few days before she agreed to join and told her that I could get her into a different arts class but she told me that she actually enjoyed your class and wanted to stay."

"She said that? Wait you tried to get her to transfer out of my class?" I asked annoyed and Jennifer's eyes went wide for a second.

"Um- Lets get back to the fact that she wanted to stay in your class and not be mad at me wanting to get her out of it." Jennifer deflected and I sighed.

"That is pretty amazing." I said surprised that someone would actually want to stay in my class, there were even times that Jesse asked if he could switch out of my classes, and he was my lead singer.

"Yeah, although she would deny it. So are you going to be okay to go home tonight?" Jennifer asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I will be alright. I have a ton of things to do anyway so I should go ahead and get going or I won't be getting any sleep tonight." I said pulling away from Jennifer and she just sighed.

"Don't run yourself ragged trying to get your mind off of this. You need to be on the top of your game for this week."

"Yeah I know and I won't, I just need some time to process all of this right now, but thank you for listening." I said and Jennifer gave me a gentle smile.

"Any time big sister, anytime."

Keeping my mind off of Rachel was easier said than done. It was weird, before I found out that she was my daughter I ignored the similarities but now that I knew I felt stupid for having taken so long to come to that conclusion. She looked exactly how I did in high school, well except for her eyes that was something she got from her dads, but other than that she was my spitting image. And don't even get me started on her talent, there are so few people with talent like hers, I just wished that I had been in her life since the beginning. That way I would have been able to shape her talent and made her a threat to Barbara Streisand herself.

I gave up on getting any sort of work done. My mind was in a thousand places right now and all of them had to do with Rachel, I just couldn't focus on my work. The major thing that was getting me was her dads. Both of them were gone and through the entire thing Rachel was placed in the care of her aunt rather than with me, her mother. I mean granted she knew her aunt better than me and having a familiar face around when you are grieving is important, but they could have at least told her about me, the contract was void now that both Hiram and LeRoy were dead wasn't it?

That being said I could just tell her that I am her mother, but what if she didn't want a mother, what if her aunt had stepped into the role and there was no room, or better yet, no need for me? What if Rachel hated me because she thought I would parent like I coach? Or she hated me because she thought I didn't want her?

There were so many different scenarios that were running through my head that made it hard to sleep. I decided to take a nice hot shower to try to ease my mind and then I laid in my bed until sleep over came my active mind and I was lulled into the darkness.

In the morning I watched as my clock turned to 6am and I hit the alarm just as it started to blare. I hopped up and went about getting ready for the day. I was hoping that I could get into my office early and get working on the set list for sectionals, that way I would be able to spend more time in Vocal Techniques to help Rachel with her solo.

For some reason I felt really energized this morning. There was a part of me that felt like I could skip coffee but then the rational part of me decided that there was no way that I could skip coffee and survive the entire day.

When I got to school there was a small line of people outside my office and once I was settled I started to see them one on one while all the while working on possible songs starting with Don't Rain on my Parade.

When Jesse walked into my office he dismissed the rest of the line that was waiting outside and then he shut my office door.

"Freshmen, so you wanted to see me?" He asked as he took a seat and I nodded.

"I have a favor to ask you but you have to promise to not freak out on me."

"Do I get to hear what you need first before I agree?" He asked and I gave him a tight smile.

"Do I get to send the letter of recommendation I am writing you before I actually write it?" I countered and he sighed.

"Fine whatever it is I'll do it." He said and I nodded.

"I knew you would, so here's the deal..."

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

"How are you this morning?" Jesse said from behind my locker and I jumped a little at the sound of his voice.

I had been trying to figure out what I needed from my locker when Jesse startled me.

"God are you trying to kill me?" I asked as I placed my hand over my pounding heart as Jesse shut my locker and smirked.

"That wasn't my intent but now I know what to do if you ever break up with me." He joked and I gave him a light shove before he pulled me in to his arms and playfully held his lips a few inches from mine. "I don't like it when you shove me." He said, his lips taunting me, urging me to kiss him.

"I-I" I stuttered not able to think straight.

"You what?" He asked knowing that there was no way that I could think straight right now.

"She has class Mr. St. James, so I suggest that you say goodbye." Mrs. Reynolds said and I couldn't help but chuckle as Jesse pulled away and I was allowed to collect my thoughts.

"I'll see you at lunch." Jesse said giving my hand a gentle squeeze before he walked away and I turned to see a very amused Mrs. Reynolds.

"That kid is something else. So how did your homework go last night?" She asked as we started to walk down the hall towards her classroom.

"It was fine, there were a few things that sort of confused me but I think I worked them out."

"That's good, just remember that if you ever get stuck you can always email or call me, honestly I have no life so I'm pretty good about getting back to students." Mrs. Reynolds said and I nodded.

"I will let you know." I said as we walked into the classroom and I took my seat.

Class flew by and before I knew it Jesse was holding my hand as we walked towards his car for lunch.

"So where do you want to go?" Jesse asked and I shrugged as I leaned into his side as we walked.

"I am fine with wherever you want to-"

"ST. JAMES, ANDERSON, REHEARSAL NOW!" Giselle shouted at us from across the parking lot and Jesse and I sighed as we turned and ran over to the auditorium where Shelby was waiting at the director's table.

Jesse gave her a look trying to get information from her expression but there was nothing being given away. Shelby just stood there like a statue and Jesse and I sighed as we made our way to the stage after dumping our things in the audience.

"Good, now that we are all here I can get on with rehearsal. We have a performance at the end of this week, that is in two days people and we are no where near ready. You were given a routine and now I am going to make sure that there is not a moment that passes without you thinking about that routine, so lets get started." Shelby said as she took a seat at the director's table. "From the top!" She barked and we all fell into place.

Our lunch rehearsal went way past lunch and when we were finally given a ten minute break Jesse went straight for the RedBull.

"I know we had a bet, but this is an emergency." Jesse said as I gave him a knowing smile.

"I win." I said as I grabbed a water and we walked off stage to go take a seat in the audience.

"Whatever." He moaned taking a sip of his horrid drink.

"So what about the rest of our classes?" I asked and Jesse shrugged.

"Ms. Corcoran probably took care of them. You know I thought it wouldn't be until at least regionals that she started showing her control freak side, but I was wrong yet again."

"So this is normal?" I asked and he nodded as he threw back the rest of his drink.

"Usually, but not until at least the fifth week of school or so."

"Then why is she doing this now?" I asked and he pointed at Giselle.

"That is your reason. She doesn't trust her to actually practice on her own so she is going to practice for her and make the rest of us miserable in the process."

"Great." I whined as I pulled my knees into my chest and rested my head on my knees.

"Well at least this is your first year dealing with this. I have had to deal with this for three years already."

"Yes but this is just my first year which means there is still the chance that I have two more years of this, depending on if I decide to stay at this school."

"So you want to change schools?" Jesse asked and I shrugged.

"I mean all my friends are at McKinley, there is nothing here to really tie me to Carmel." I stated and Jesse nodded.

"Well there might be more tying you here then you think." Jesse mumbled and I was about to ask him what he meant when we were called back onto the stage.

"Alright lets take it from the top again, and this time Giselle lets hit all the right cues." Ms. Corcoran barked and Giselle just rolled her eyes as she got into position and then waited for the music to be cued to the right spot.

We ran through the number a few times before there was a frustrated sigh that came through the speakers.

"Stop, stop, just stop. Everyone but Giselle just leave, I need to work a few things out and the rest of you can join us in an hour. Now go." She said and we all quickly scampered off the stage so she could get to work.

"Well that can't be good for Giselle." I said as Jesse and I walked out of the auditorium and he shook his head.

"It's not good for anyone. Our performance is Friday, that is two days away and Shelby is not happy with what we are doing."

"So what is going to happen if we are not ready?" I asked and Jesse scoffed.

"Oh we will be ready, just we are all going to be rehearsing to death in the process."

"All because of Giselle." I said and he nodded with a little laugh.

"What I would give to be a fly on the wall in that rehearsal. Shelby hates Giselle and Giselle hates Shelby. I have a feeling that one of them is not going to make it out of this rehearsal alive and I have a feeling that it might be Giselle, now if it were you and Shelby, I might have to put my money on you." Jesse said as we leaned against his car.

"But that would have to entail me not being prepared for a rehearsal and that will never happen." I stated and Jesse laughed.

"That is true." He said.

"So you lost the bet." I stated and he nodded.

"I did."

"So what shall I make you do? I mean I did win so being the winner I should be allowed to choose something to make you do."

"I don't think that this is such a good idea for me."

"No it probably won't be, how about dinner?"

"I can buy you dinner-"

"How about I make dinner for us or at least you can pick something up? After the thing on Friday we can head to Lima and the two of us can hang out at my old house. How does that sound?" I asked and Jesse smiled.

"It sounds like I would have lost the bet much sooner had I of known this would have been the end result." He said with a smirk and I rolled my eyes.

"Next time you lose a bet with me don't think I will go so easy on you." I joked and Jesse leaned and kissed me.

"Lets hope so."

Jesse and I just hung around campus for the hour that we had off before we had to head back into rehearsal where Shelby was sitting at the director's table as if nothing happened and Giselle was no where to be seen.

"Oh this is not good." Jesse said as we walked into the empty auditorium.

"Rachel can I see you for a moment?" Shelby asked without looking up and I exchanged glances with Jesse before I proceeded over to where Shelby was still working.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked and she stopped what she was doing and looked up at me.

"Yes, Giselle isn't going to be able to stay for the rest of rehearsal and we need to run through her songs so I need you to take the lead, you can do that right?" She asked and I nodded.

"I could do that." I said apprehensively as she turned back to her work.

"Great, then lets get started."

No one seemed to really care that I had taken the lead on the songs, in fact most of them seemed pleased that we were let out early because I was hitting my marks and we did not have to keep re-starting the entire routine because I was incompetent.

"Nice job new kid!" A senior said as we got ready to leave and I smiled.

"Thanks." I said as Jesse pulled me into his side.

"Getting compliments this early in the game? I really did pick the right girl to date." Jesse joked as he leaned in to kiss me.

"Rachel a word!" Ms. Corcoran yelled just before Jesse could make contact with my lips and I smiled as I threw my bag over my shoulder and took a few steps away.

"I'll see you tomorrow Jesse."

"Yeah yeah." He said as he slung his back over his shoulder and then turned to walk outside.

"You were great today, you really stepped up and showed me that you could succeed in a lead role." Shelby said as I approached her.

"Thanks." I said as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I just want to make sure that this thing between you and Jesse isn't going to get in the way of your performances." She said and I couldn't help but feel a little awkward in this situation.

"I can assure you that nothing between Jesse and I will get in the way of your performances."

"You read the contract that you signed correct?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes but I don't think that anything between Jesse and I is interfering with our performance on the team-"

"I was just making sure you understood the rules."

"Was that all?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes, just that and nice work today. Now if I could just Giselle up to your standards, then we would be in business." She remarked and I just nodded as I adjusted my bag on my shoulder.

"So I guess I will see you tomorrow?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yeah I guess so." I said as I walked out of the auditorium, but I couldn't help but feel as if there was something that tied me to Ms. Corcoran, something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

**A/n: SO here is another chapter. I am starting to catch up to my pre-written chapters but I am working on writing more so there isn't a huge problem!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Shelby's POV:**

"Performance day!" Jesse cheered as he entered my office and I nodded.

"It is and I hope for Giselle's sake she remembered the corrections I made for her." I said and Jesse nodded.

"Yeah, so um I'm going to Rachel's house after the performance tonight."

"You are?" I asked and he nodded.

"It was Rachel's idea actually. She wants to grab dinner and then eat it at her old house, her aunt and uncle okayed the idea as well, just as long as if I spend the night I do so in a different room."

"You better not spend the night with her, I will skin you."

"And now you sound like one of those scary parents." Jesse said as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Too much?" I asked and he nodded.

"Way too much, I mean she doesn't even know you are her mom yet and you are threatening to skin her boy friend, which might I say anytime that includes me is a bad idea." Jesse stated and I sighed.

"Well I don't have to be her mother to know that her dating you is going to end disastrously and I am just trying to protect her from that."

"Hey you don't know that it is going to end badly."

"Lets be serious Jesse, you don't have the best track record with girls."

"Things could change."

"And for your sake lets hope that happens, but I swear Jesse I will break up your relationship with Rachel faster than fast if I even get an inkling of you being your old self." I said in a firm voice that Jesse clearly ignored.

"Do you want me to help you out or do you want me to walk away from this because all this talk about breaking Rachel and me up is really making me reconsider doing this for you."

"Sorry, I really need your help so I will stop." I said and he nodded.

"Thank you. So what's the deal, do I just find the tape and have her play it or what?" He asked and I sighed being as I had gone over this a hundred times with him when I first told him about Rachel.

"For right now just enjoy your time and maybe plant the seed of her finding her mother."

"But I'm going to be in the house, wouldn't it just be easier for me to find the tape?" Jesse asked and I shook my head.

"Right now she doesn't want a mother, she just lost her dads and I have to be the farthest thing from her mind. I need to plant the seed of her wanting to find me and let it flourish until she can't stop thinking about finding me. Can you do that?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Yeah, it's no big deal. But just so I am clear on this I am not to find the tape tonight?" Jesse asked and I nodded.

"Save the tape for a later date."

"What if I never make it back to her house?" Jesse asked and I shook my head.

"Let's not play the what if game Jesse, just do as I ask."

"Fine. So how is my letter of recommendation coming?" Jesse asked and I smirked.

"I don't know, we will have to see, but it looks promising."

"Being as this conversation is going nowhere, I'll see you later." Jesse said as he got up and left my office.

The rest of the day was a breeze. I decided against having VA rehearse all day being as I wanted them on top of their game for their performance tonight. Plus I made sure that Giselle knew she would never again have any sort of lead role if she did not get her shit together, so I wasn't too worried about the shape of the performance tonight.

I was in my element when Jennifer showed up at my office with a cup of coffee for me.

"You ready for tonight?" Jennifer asked and I nodded.

"Of course I am ready for tonight." I scoffed as I took the coffee from Jennifer and motioned for her to take a seat.

"Rachel's aunt and uncle are going to be there right?" Jennifer asked and I shrugged.

"I have no idea, I would guess that they are going to be here, this is her first performance after all." I said and Jennifer nodded.

"Then I might just stick around, you know scope out the competition and what not." Jennifer said and I laughed.

"Seriously? You just found out that she was your niece and now you are trying to compare yourself to the aunt and uncle she has known all her life? Yeah good luck with that one."

"Hey I just want to see what she finds so great about these people, I mean from what it seems like they aren't that great and I can totally make her favor me over them. Look at it this way, her liking me will be another plus for you in the end." Jennifer stated and I rolled my eyes.

"I don't need your help Jen, I can do it all on my own." I said and she nodded.

"Yeah that must be why you have that little prick Jesse seducing your daughter-"

"He is not seducing her!"

"All I am trying to say is that you and Jesse are walking a thin line and if at any point one of you crosses it, Rachel is going to be pissed."

"Thank you for the warning but I know. I know that what I am doing is so wrong and honestly I can't stand the thought of Rachel being with Jesse but its a means to an end so I am using it."

"Do you think that they are going to last long? I mean Rachel doesn't seem like Jesse's type, he is going to get bored with her soon."

"You know Jesse's type? I didn't know that you paid so much attention to him." I joked and Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"You make it sound so wrong Shelby. The only reason I know Jesse's 'type' is because he has a strange need to make out with his flings in front of my office and he is not candid about his relationships." Jennifer said and I laughed remembering how I promised Jesse extra credit if he made out in front of her office being as I knew how uncomfortable it made her.

"So is your lovely husband joining you tonight?" I asked and Jennifer nodded.

"Yes he is. He is coming straight from work so he doesn't miss anything but he will be here."

"So he will come to your things but when he asks you to go somewhere you blow him off? That is some marriage you have there."

"He understands me Shel, he doesn't expect me to show up at half of the things I do and he appreciates the effort I do put forth, he really is the perfect guy." Jennifer said, fawning over whatever memory she was re-playing in her mind.

"Great so while you reminisce on whatever memory you have I am going to make sure that everything is working in the auditorium so tonight goes off without a hitch.

Jennifer followed me around as I checked the lighting and mikes for tonight. It wasn't until members of Vocal Adrenaline started showing up that she finally left me alone and let me do my job with out her constant hovering.

When the doors opened at seven everyone in VA was dressed and waiting in the wings. Their blue dresses were not what I had envisioned and I would be sure to let the tailors know that I was not trilled by the dresses but they would work for tonight, they had to work for tonight. With the seats in the audience now filled and the crowd settling down I had everyone get set on stage.

With any other glee club this would be the time that the director would go onto stage and talk about how hard their club had worked but that was tacky. Instead I had the curtains open to a dark stage where my performers were waiting for the music to start.

When Amy Winehouse's Rehab started everyone snapped to life, just like I had planned.

There were a few mistakes that were made but to the untrained eye the performance was flawless. It was no surprise when the audience jumped to their feet and then stayed there for the the rest of the songs, my team lived for that reaction, they craved it.

Overall I had to say it was a decent performance and I decided against keeping the kids there after the reception in order to correct the few mistakes that were made. The reception was filled with smiles and introductions. I was introduced to a few of the freshman's parents before Rachel and Jesse came over and saved me.

"Ms. Corcoran my parents want to meet you, if that is alright." Rachel said and I nodded.

"Of course. Excuse me for a moment." I said to some girls parents as I followed Rachel over to who she wanted me to believe were her parents.

"Ms. Corcoran these are my, my parents." Rachel said as she nervously smoothed her dress with her hands.

"Hi I'm Mia and this is my husband Richard." The lanky brunette said as she extended her hand and I smiled as I took it.

"It's nice to meet you both." I said as I dropped my hand back down to my side.

"Rachel can you go grab Blaine for us?" Rachel's uncle asked and Rachel nodded as she took Jesse's hand and the two walked off to go find her cousin.

"Rachel is a very talented kid." I said trying to ease some of the tension that was growing between us.

"You can drop the act, Rachel is gone." Her aunt said as she took a step towards me with a scowl on her face.

"What act?" I asked, trying to make myself look as innocent as possible, knowing that there was no way this was going to work.

"Fine if that is the way you want to play it. I know about the contract so don't even think about becoming a part of Rachel's life. She has already gone through enough, the only thing she needs right now is a stable environment and that is what my family is providing for her." Mia snapped and I smirked.

"The contract that I signed was with Hiram and LeRoy Berry, not with you two. Now being as they are both deceased the contract is void, but you don't have to worry about me going after her because that isn't what she needs from me right now. Right now she needs me to be her coach and to push her back into music because that is what she loves. Oh and one more thing, a stable environment may be what she needs but if she finds out you were keeping her mother from her, she isn't going to be too happy." I stated and Mia rolled her eyes.

"You are just as much to blame as we are in that." She said and I shook my head as my smirk grew wider.

"No, to me she is just Rachel Anderson, not Rachel Berry, the fall out will be all on you." I said as I noticed Rachel starting to walk back over towards us with her cousin in tow. "It was a pleasure meeting you both, I hope to see you again real soon." I said as I turned and walked away giving Rachel a gentle smile as I passed to go join Jennifer who had been watching the entire exchange from across the room.

"What was that all about?" Jennifer whispered as I joined the group she was with and I shook my head.

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

"What?" Jennifer pressed and I sighed knowing that she was not going to drop the subject.

"They brought up the contract." I said and she turned and glared at their retreating forms.

"I should go give them a piece of my mind-" She said as I grabbed her arm and shook my head.

"Don't worry about it, they got more than a mouth full from me already." I said and Jennifer relaxed a little.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that." She said and I shrugged.

"It's a small price to pay for my daughter."

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

My aunt and uncle seemed a little phased by their meeting with Ms. Corcoran, and that might have been weird if it wasn't for the fact that I knew Ms. Corcoran. She was an intense person to meet, but after some time you got used to it, more or less.

Jesse was silent the entire ride to my old house. I wasn't sure how I would feel being back there but it was something that I wanted to do and I was happy that Jesse was going with me. Jesse was a part of my future and if I wanted to continue to have that future I had to let him in on my past.

We picked up some food from Breadstixs and then headed to my house. We decided against sitting in the dining room and instead spread a blanket on the living room floor and had a makeshift picnic. For some reason I just couldn't sit on the white couches my dads picked out and eat pasta, call it classical conditioning.

"Why did you want to come here?" Jesse asked after we have finished eating and I shrugged.

"I don't know. I think it has something to do with the fact that tonight was the first time in who knows how long I have let a large number of people hear me sing and I just wanted to be close to my dads." I said and Jesse pulled me into a hug after seeing how emotional I was right now.

"I bet they are so proud of you right now. You were fantastic tonight and it is only going to get better in time, especially because next time you are going to be one of the people being featured in singing." He joked and I nodded.

"That's true. I guess I just like to be close to my dad's when I feel sad."

"That's understandable. So do I get a tour of the place or what?" Jesse asked and I smiled.

"Of course you get a tour, come on." I said as I got up and he happily followed me, intertwining our fingers as I started towards the basement so we could start the tour off properly.

"So what is this room?" Jesse asked as we stopped at the bottom of the stairs and I shrugged.

"Well at one point it was set up so I could give concerts to my dads, but when my one dad got sick it turned into a storage area for everything that we had to move around upstairs so he was comfortable at home."

"So is that what is in these boxes?" Jesse asked pointing to the back wall where there were stacks of bins and I shook my head.

"No those were moved down here when I moved to Akron. Those are boxes of things from my childhood and what not. My dads were very thorough in making sure they kept a good record of my life, you know for when I am famous and what not. It will be easier for me when I go to write my biography." I said and Jesse nodded in complete understanding.

"Are there things in the boxes from before you were born?" Jesse asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know, to be honest I haven't ever gone through them, but I would assume so. Shall we move on to the next part of our tour?" I asked and Jesse nodded as we walked out of the basement.

The rest of the tour went by quickly and before I knew it I was leading Jesse into my bedroom as the last stop on the tour.

"So this is where you used to sleep?" Jesse asked as he walked over and sat on my bed and I nodded.

"Yep, this has been my room since I was born. I think there was only one color change and that was from a light pink to what it is now." I said and Jesse nodded.

"I could see that. So how is living with your aunt?" Jesse asked as I took a seat next to him and I shrugged.

"It's fine I guess."

"You guess?" Jesse questioned and I sighed.

"I miss my dads and as much as I love my aunt she isn't my parent. Does that make any sort of sense?"

"Yeah. Have you ever thought about, I don't know, your mom?" Jesse asked and I wasn't sure how to respond to his question.

There were plenty of times that I thought about her. I mean I looked nothing like either of my dads so that made me wonder if I looked like my mom or someone she was related to. Then there were times when I wondered if I had her personality, if I got my singing talent from her, or if she ever wondered about me. I think the better question would have been when don't I think about my mom but for the sake of Jesse's question I decided to go with a simple answer.

"Yeah." I mumbled and Jesse took my hands into his making it so I was looking into his eyes.

"What was with that response?" He asked and I sighed.

"It hurts." I said as I tried to suppress the sobs that were stuck in my throat.

"What hurts Rach?" Jesse asked tucking a loose piece of hair behind my ear before he gently wiped a stray tear from my cheek.

"I just wish I knew who she was, that's all. I've always had this vision in my head about her and I've asked my dads about her and they promised me we would talk about it-"

"When was that?" Jesse asked.

"Before my dad got sick. He told me when I turned fifteen we would talk but it was about a month before my birthday when he got sick and the talk never came. When he died I tried once again with my other dad but he wouldn't hear of it, he was so closed off." I said as the tears cascaded down my face, not that I really cared at the moment. "I just wished that I knew her. There are so many possibilities out there and I just want to know if she even wanted me, or if this was just a job to her. Does she even want me? I think about her all the time Jesse and it hurts so much. It's just a huge part of my life that I don't know about." I said and Jesse pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm sure that your mom wants you Rachel, I bet she is dying to meet you."

"Then where is she?" I asked and Jesse sighed.

"Maybe she is closer than you think." He whispered into my ear and I nodded.

"Maybe, but even if that was true there is no way that my aunt and uncle would let me get to know her." I said leaning back and wiping the tears with the back of my hand.

"And why is that?" Jesse asked and I sighed.

"Because I know them Jesse. My dad clearly didn't want me to know who my mother was so there is no way that my aunt wants me to know who she is. I just have to get used to the fact that I don't have a mother-"

"You have a mother Rachel, and I bet that she loves you so much. What if there was a way to find out who your mother was without your aunt knowing?" Jesse asked peaking my interest in what he was saying.

"And how would that work?" I asked.

"Well first of all you have a ton of boxes in the basement, there has to be something in those boxes-"

"And if there isn't anything?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Maybe you can talk to your dad's lawyers and see if there was any paper work that they filed, maybe there is a name that you can track down."

"You really think that she will want me?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Who wouldn't want you Rachel? It's worth a shot, plus just because you find out who your mother is doesn't mean that you have to go and announce that you are her daughter right away." Jesse said and I nodded.

"You're right. Do you want to help with some of the boxes?" I asked as I started to get up when Jesse grabbed my hand.

"Another thing Rachel is that you don't have to jump into it right now." Jesse said cutting off my protest with a kiss that I immediately deepened.

Our simple kiss turned into a full blown make out session before I pulled away as Jesse tried to push me farther than I was comfortable with going right now.

"I'm not ready." I whispered as I turned my face from him and he immediately stopped what he was doing.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed you, I was being stupid. I know you aren't ready for this." He said as he got off my bed and started to fix his hair. "I should get going." He said as I grabbed his hand.

"Please stay." I begged and he let out a soft sigh before he climbed back onto the bed.

"Just until you fall asleep." He whispered and I smiled as he laid down next to me in the bed and held me as I drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

_So some little birdy told me that you guys wanted another chapter? I hope they were right! ENJOY_

* * *

When I woke up in the morning Jesse was gone. There was a note from him on my bed side table letting me know that he had to go take care of some family things and that he was sorry that he had to leave even though he decided to stay through the night in case I needed him.

I wasn't too upset by him leaving, in fact with him gone I could finally go shuffle through those boxes that were in the basement. I quickly got out of bed and then changed into some old sweats that I had left behind. I knew that this was going to take a while so I at least wanted to be comfortable.

It took a while to sort through the boxes. The earliest box that I could find had a ton of ultra sound photos all bound into an album but the part where it would have said my mother's name was neatly cropped off of every single photo. It really seemed like there were great measures taken to be sure that it would not be easy for me to find out who my mother was. If I was going to do this I was going to have to be a little more clever than my dads which was not proving to be an easy task. If there wasn't any information on who my mom was in one of these boxes, there had to be something on her in my dads office, the one room I was never allowed to go into.

It was strange walking into my dad's office. The last time I was in here I was going over their Wills with their lawyers, now I was about to start snooping through their things in hopes that I could find something on the topic that had been off limits for so long.

I looked through the filing cabinets but I was coming up empty. It seemed like this search for my mother was about to end as suddenly as it had started. I was about to start looking in my father's desk when the doorbell rang and I sighed as I slipped out of the office towards the front door.

I didn't bother with looking to see who it was and I just pulled the door open to see Noah Puckerman.

"Hey Rachel!" He said as he stepped into my house and I just shook my head as I closed the door behind him.

"Yeah Puck just come on in. No I wasn't sleeping or doing anything important."

"Look Rachel I'm sorry to barge in on you but I needed to talk to you for a while now and I saw that there was a car here so I took a chance." Puck said as he took a seat on the couch and I sighed as I joined him.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" I asked and Puck ran a hand through his mohawk.

"Has Quinn talked to you about the little problem she seems to be having with Finn?" Puck asked and I shook my head.

"No I have sort of been busy with rehearsal lately, why what is going on?" I asked feeling like a complete failure of a friend.

"There is this girl in the McKinley glee club-"

"Wait McKinley has a glee club now?" I asked and Puck nodded.

"Yeah, anyway there is this new girl, Sunshine something or other, anyway she is pining after Finn or something and Quinn is going nuts. Anyway she wants me to join the glee club with her Santana and Brittany. What should I do?"

""Wouldn't the glee club sort of hurt your reputation?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes it would but I sort of did something stupid and Quinn is threatening to tell if I don't go."

"What did you do?" I asked knowing that it was totally like Quinn to hold things over people's heads if they didn't do what she wanted them to do.

"I sort of slept with her." Puck muttered.

"YOU WHAT?" I yelled and Noah squeezed his eyes shut.

"I know I am a terrible person." He said and I shook my head.

"I take it Finn has no idea." I said and he nodded.

"Yeah and it should stay that way. Quinn and I both know that it was a mistake but she was so angry and I was so-"

"You?" I asked and Puck nodded.

"Yeah, man I am such a shitty friend." Puck said and I nodded.

"You are. So what do you want me to say?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I don't know, I don't even know if I can sing." Puck said as he rested his head in his hands.

"Everyone can sing, come on." I said as I took his hand and dragged him over to the piano that was just outside of the dining room.

"Rachel lets be serious I can't sing-"

"Yes you can. Do you know the song Sweet Caroline?" I asked and he nodded. "Good, now I am going to play the song on the piano and you are going to sing it."

"But-"

"Just do it." I said as I sat down and he shook his head as I played a short scale to warm up my fingers.

I had to admit that it was a little rough at first but once Puck let go and just got into the song he actually was a great singer. I think he even surprised himself with how well he did.

"Look at that, I can sing." Puck said and I nodded.

"Yes you can. So do you think you are going to be able to hold your own in the glee club?" I joked and Puck rolled his eyes.

"I think I can rule that stupid little glee club. Thank you." He said as he surprised me with a hug and I smiled as I hugged him back.

"You're welcome, but Puck you cannot sleep with Quinn again. I know you realize how stupid it was but sometimes a certain member of your body has more say than your head." I said and he nodded.

"I get it, I really do. So what are you even doing here?" Puck asked as we walked towards the front door.

"I had a performance last night and I just wanted to come home afterwords." I said as I wrapped my arms around myself and Puck gave me a small smile.

"It's good to have you back home, you should visit more often." He said as I opened the door and leaned against the door frame.

"Or you could come visit me." I said giving him a sickly sweet smile.

"Yeah yeah. I'll see you around Rachel, thanks for everything." Noah said and nodded.

"No problem."

When Puck was gone I walked back into the office and let out a long sigh as I collapsed into the chair at the desk knocking one of the drawers in the desk out.

"Shit." I said as I went to pick up the drawer that had fallen out of the desk only to notice that it had a fake bottom in it.

I put all the papers to the side and then I opened the fake bottom of the drawer and saw a file labeled Rachel's papers along with a tape and a letter addressed to me.

I wasn't sure what all these papers were so I flipped open the file and shuffled through the papers. There was my birth certificate, medical records, a contract, I had hit the jackpot but for some reason I couldn't read them. I couldn't find out who my mom was, it was all happening way too fast for me. I quickly shut the file and then placed the drawer back into the desk as if I were going to get caught being in here.

I took the file, tape, and letter with me as I left the office and headed up to my room. I fired off a quick text to Jesse and asked him to come and meet me at the Lima Bean and then I went to take a shower.

I needed to clear my head, I needed to get my mind off of the folder that was burning a hole in my comforter. I had not expected to find anything so soon. I mean I wasn't even sure if I wanted to find anything this soon. It was just yesterday that I had vocalized the want to find out who my mom was and today was the day that I found my answer. Just the thought was pure insanity.

My shower was a blur and before I even knew what was happening I was sitting at the Lima Bean across from Jesse as the folder and other items sat between us.

"What do I do?" I asked as I sipped my coffee and Jesse shrugged.

"Well isn't this what you wanted?" He asked and I nodded.

"It is but this is happening so fast. I mean this is serious, these things hold the key to me finding my mom, I just don't know if I am ready." I said and Jesse reached across the table and squeezed my hand.

"Why don't you just listen to the tape?"

"That is the scariest thing of them all. I mean what if she can't sing? Or worse yet what if she is better than me?" I asked and Jesse tried to suppress a smile.

"Just listen you might be pleasantly surprised. And maybe from there you will find yourself ready to really find your mom."

"You mean like look at the papers?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Yes like look at the papers silly. Trust me Rachel you can do this, I believe in you." Jesse said as he reached across the table and kissed me. "I'm sorry I had to leave last night." He said as he pulled away and I smiled.

"It's alright, I understand the whole family thing." I said and he nodded.

"Are you going back to your aunt's house?" He asked and I nodded.

"I sort of have to, although I wouldn't mind being able to stay in my house a while longer, I forgot how much I missed being there."

"You know they say that there is no place like home." Jesse said and I nodded.

"Yep. I better get going, I think Cooper was coming home this weekend and I have to at least make an appearance."

"Cooper? Should I be jealous?" Jesse asked and I shook my head.

"Not in the least. Cooper is my older annoying cousin who thinks the world revolves around him. So no, there is no need for you to be jealous."

"Good." He said as he leaned across the table and kissed me again.

"Hey Jesse would you do me a favor?" I asked and he nodded.

"Of course." He said and I pushed the file towards him.

"Take these for me, I just can't deal with it right now." I said and he sighed as he pushed the tape back towards me.

"At least listen to the tape." He said and I shook my head.

"I don't think I can."

"Are we going to go through this again?" Jesse asked and I shrugged.

"Fine I'll take the tape." I said and he smiled.

"Good, so let me walk you out." He said as he took my hand and we walked out of the Lima Bean towards our cars.

"I'll talk to you on Monday." I said as we came to a stop in front of my car.

"Actually we will probably be called into some sort of rehearsal tomorrow so I will more than likely see you then." He said as he kissed my cheek and I sighed.

"Yeah, god there are times when I wished that Ms. Corcoran had some else to pay attention to other than VA, it would make our lives so much easier." I said and Jesse snickered.

"You have no idea." He said as I climbed into my car.

"Bye Rach." He said and I gave him a small wave.

"See ya Jesse."

The drive back to Akron was long and boring. The songs that were on the radio were nice but it was nothing that kept my attention for too terribly long. I was just happy when I pulled into the drive way of my aunts house, at least there were going to be a bunch of people around to keep my mind off of the tape that was now hiding in my purse.

As soon as I walked through the door I was tackled by Blaine.

"Keep Cooper away from me." He whispered and I rolled my eyes and walked past him.

"No way I am dealing with him. I just got home." I said only to walk straight into Cooper who had a smug smile on his face.

"It's about time you made your way home, what took you so long? Were things with your boyfriend that time consuming that you couldn't make it home to say hi to your favorite cousin?" Cooper asked and I glared at him.

"No, I was hanging out with some of my friends and the drive here isn't a walk in the park either."

"Rachel you're home, good. Alright what would you like to eat? Your uncle and I were just about to go grab some lunch for everyone." Aunt Mia said and I shrugged.

"Some sort of salad is fine, I am going to head to my room for a little bit." I said side stepping Cooper and aunt Mia nodded as she gathered her purse and car keys so she could head out.

I was alone in my room for all of ten minutes when Cooper and Blaine made an appearance.

"So what's this new guys name?" Cooper asked as he plopped down on my bed.

"Jesse, now get out of my room." I said but he was not taking a hint.

"Jesse what?" He asked and I looked at Blaine as he just shrugged signaling that this was not going to end until I gave into Cooper.

"St. James, his name is Jesse St. James. Now will you leave?" I asked and he shook his head.

"You know that Jesse is like the most famous womanizer of his time right? The kid was a legend when I was in high school and that was years ago." Cooper said and I was getting to the point where I didn't want to hear about it anymore.

"He isn't like that with me Coop, now leave!" I said raising my voice a little but all I got in return was a little tisk tisk from Cooper.

"Temper, temper Rachel. You are never going to make it as an actress with an attitude like that. You know it is a good thing that you are living with my mom and dad now, at least they can teach you some manners unlike your parents." Cooper said and I glared at him.

"What are you trying to say about my dads?" I asked in a low growl and Cooper just shrugged.

"All I am trying to say is that they-"

"Cooper!" Blaine tried to cut him off but Cooper was not going to be interrupted.

"Is that your dads did a terrible job in raising you right." Cooper finished and I had enough.

It was one thing to not listen to me and make rude comments about my boyfriend and my temper, but talking about my dads that was a different story and I was not going to tolerate it.

"COOPER ANDERSON I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" I screamed as I lunged for his throat narrowly missing him as he ducked the the right.

"See this is what I am talking about, our parents never condoned this sort of behavior." Cooper said as we played a game of cat and mouse around my bed before I decided going over it was the easiest way to get to his jugular.

"Cooper get out of here now!" Blaine said trying to secure his brother's safety as I narrowly beheaded him.

"You know this is some way to say thank you to the person who let you have their old car." Cooper said standing still long enough for me to lunge and tackle him to the floor.

Cooper and I fought for a moment before Blaine pulled me off of Cooper and held me while his brother gathered what was left of his dignity and left the room.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked after a few moments of silence and I nodded as I tried to get my rage under control.

"I'm sorry Blaine I overreacted." I said combing through the ends of my hair and Blaine shook his head.

"No Cooper was way out of line. God if I wasn't afraid of what mom would do if he was dead, I would have let you kill him. Damn Cooper and his holier than though thought process. If he wasn't the favorite child..."

"It's fine Blaine, I should have expected it, he always loved to press my buttons." I said and Blaine sighed.

"I'll let mom know what happened so don't worry about it, but just lay low for the rest of the time Cooper is here."

"Thanks Blaine." I said and Blaine just smiled as he walked out of my room leaving me alone again.

I was able to hear when Aunt Mia returned home and I braced myself for her coming to talk to me, but even with as much preparation as I had, I was still not in the mood to listen to her lecture.

"So I heard there was a fight." She said as she walked in and I nodded.

"There was a small altercation but I don't really want to talk about it." I said and she sighed as she sat down on the corner of my bed.

"You don't even want to talk about what got you to the point of tackling Cooper?" She asked and I shook my head.

"Not really." I said and she nodded.

"Well I brought your salad here for you and I guess we will talk about it later." Aunt Mia said and she stood up and I nodded as she walked out of my room.

Later never came. I fell asleep soon after I finished eating and then the next day I had to rush off to rehearsal after waking up to a text from Jesse telling me we had rehearsal within the hour. Now I was stuck on stage with a ton of other kids waiting for Ms. Corcoran to show up and tell us what we were going to be doing today.

"Listen to the tape?" Jesse asked and I shook my head.

"No I haven't. There was a slight problem issue with my cousin when I got home and then I fell asleep."

"Sure, that's it."

"Jesse-"

"Alright everyone line up!" Ms. Corcoran said as she dumped her bag on the desk and then she walked towards us as we all scampered into position. "I want to start off by saying your performance on Friday was flawed, don't get me wrong it was acceptable but it wasn't perfect. Now that we have that little performance out of the way we can start working towards our next big competition which is Sectionals."

"Who is the lead?" Giselle asked and Ms. Corcoran smiled.

"That would be one Rachel Anderson, Rachel if you don't mind I would like to start with the group number and then we will work one-on-one with your solo number." Ms. Corcoran said and I nodded.

"That's fine." I said and she smirked.

"Great then everybody follow my lead and lets get started."

Ms. Corcoran basically had an entire routine on stage by the time she sent everyone else home.

"So I know we have been working on this in your lessons but I just want to take a seat and let you show me what you can do." She said as she took a seat and I nodded as I pulled my hair up into a bun trying to think of how to perform for someone who had seen it all.

I was pacing backstage when an idea popped into my head and I smiled as I used the back stage door to make my way to the front entrance of the auditorium, there was no way that she was going to see this one coming. I made it to the back door just in enough time to prepare myself before the music started.

It in all actuality was not my best performance but I could almost see the wheels in Ms. Corcoran's minds turning as I sang the song. When I ended I could see the huge smile on her face and I knew it wasn't from the performance I just put on.

"That was-"

"I know, I'm sorry. I was a little flat when I first started and I could have used the stage a little more-"

"Rachel it's okay, we have time to work on it. The entrance, that was brilliant, no one will see it coming."

"Oh, thank you." I said with a slight blush and she got up.

"About using the stage, some times less is more. Let me show you." She said as she walked onto the stage and I took a seat in the auditorium.

With the click of a button sounds of Funny Girl filled the entire room and Ms. Corcoran smiled as soon as locked eyes with me. It was a few seconds later that I was enthralled by the sound of her voice, it was gorgeous and like nothing I had ever heard before. I was in awe of my coach and she could see it written all over my face.

When the song finished Ms. Corcoran slowly descended from the stage and stood a few feet away from me.

"What did you think?" She asked and I couldn't even think of words to describe the performance.

"That was, wow!" I said and she laughed a little.

"Thank you, and that can be your performance as well, and by the time sectionals rolls around it will be." She said and I gave a half hearted smile.

"Maybe. Did you know McKinley started a glee club?" I asked and Shelby laughed.

"Yes I am aware of that. In fact a few members from the their lack luster team came to our performance on Friday. They are a sad looking bunch." She said and I nodded.

"Sorry that was off topic." I said and she took a seat next to me.

"What's bothering you?" She asked and I sighed.

"It's nothing, I just have had a lot on my mind since Friday. Can we get back to working on the solo? I just need to get my mind off of some stuff." I said and she was hesitant at first but eventually she nodded and we got back to working on my solo.

When rehearsal was finished I returned to my aunt's house and went directly to my room. Cooper was getting ready to leave so I wanted to stay out of dodge until he was on his way back to college. Instead of walking around the house I took a shower and then laid on my bed. I pulled out my ipod so I could listen to my music and then realized that my head phones were across the room in my purse.

I sighed as I reluctantly got out of bed and crossed the room. I dug around in my purse until my fingers stumbled upon the tape that I had almost forgotten about in the mess of my weekend.

I passed the tape between my finger and then looked over at the old CD/Tape player that was sitting in the corner of my room. With Cooper leaving I had some time for myself and if I wanted to this would be the perfect time to listen to the tape.

I took the tape over and put it in but I couldn't press play, so instead I pulled my headphones out and crashed on my bed.

I needed time, I felt so lost and even though this could help me, I just needed to be ready and right now I wasn't ready.


	9. Chapter 9

_**For some reason I thought that I posted this before today...WHOOPS! Anyway here it is, enjoy!**_

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"Listen to the tape yet?" Jesse asked for about the hundredth time this week.

"No Jesse I haven't and if you mention it one more time I will kill you." I bit as I slammed my locker shut in frustration.

It wasn't that I was mad at Jesse for asking, in fact I thought it was sweet that he cared so much. Instead I was just mad at the fact that I wasn't brave enough to play the tape. I mean I said that I wanted to find out who my mom was but at the same time I couldn't find out. What was wrong with me?

From there my day just got progressively worse. I couldn't pay attention in my classes which meant that anything I was assigned was just a blur and there was no way that I was going to do well on my homework. My lesson with Ms. Corcoran was also a disaster. I was way too distracted for my own good and it was taking a toll on everything in my life and people were taking notice.

"Rachel I am not usually one to say something but you have been performing below par these last few days." Shelby said as she stacked her papers that were on her desk.

"I'm sorry I just have a lot going on." I said and she sighed as she leaned against the piano.

"You need to work these things out, you are way too distracted right now to continue being the lead."

"I'm sorry, I will do something about it, I promise." I said and she gave me a small smile.

"Do you need to talk to someone about it?" She asked and I shook my head. I mean yes I did want to talk to someone other than Jesse about it but at the same time I didn't want to burden Ms. Corcoran with my problems. "Are you sure?" She asked and I nodded.

"I'm sure, it's just something that I have to take care of soon and then everything will be back to normal." I lied knowing that if I did find out who my mother was this might be as normal as it gets for a while.

"Alright then, why don't you take Vocal Tech off to figure things out so you will be ready for rehearsal, that is the last place you need to be distracted." She said and I nodded.

"I promise I will be better at rehearsal." I said and she smiled.

"I hope so."

Rachel wasn't any better at rehearsal. I knew that she had the tape, Jesse had told me she found it on her own, but now we were playing a waiting game with her. For some reason she refused to listen to the tape and it was driving both her and me insane.

I dismissed everyone on time from rehearsal and I made eye contact with Jesse so he knew that I needed to speak to him before he left. Jesse took his time saying good bye to Rachel but he did keep it PG for my sake.

When everyone was gone Jesse and I walked down to my office. I knew that there was always a chance someone could over hear us if we met any where else so I made sure my office door was shut so if someone came looking they would know I was in a private meeting and there wouldn't be anyone to over hear what was going on.

"So I take it she hasn't listened to the tape?" I asked and Jesse sighed.

"No she hasn't listened to the tape, and this whole thing is putting her into a rather foul mood." He said with a slight pout.

"I can see that. Look you need to make her listen to that tape, and soon." I said as Jesse rolled his eyes.

"I can't MAKE her do anything, she flat out refuses to listen to it and there is nothing I can do to change her mind." Jesse said and I laid my head in my hands.

"I guess that is it then, eventually she will come around but until then I'll just be my only daughter's coach." I whined and Jesse sighed.

"Fine I'll make her listen to the tape but she is going to hate me." He said and I shrugged.

"We all make sacrifices." I joked and Jesse shook his head. "She won't hate you Jesse, I will make sure of that." I said and he cocked an eyebrow.

"And how will you do that?" He questioned.

"I have my ways. Anyway you should get going, you have a busy day." I said and he gave me a skeptical look before he got up and left.

"So does she know yet?" Jennifer asked entering my office as Jesse exited.

"Not yet, she refuses to listen to the tape or look at the papers she found, but I think Jesse is going to take care of it tonight." I said and she sat down.

"Are you sure that is what you want? Aren't you sort of pushing her towards you, don't you want her to come to you in her own time?"

"If I let her do it on her own time I might never get to know her as my daughter Jen, I just-I don't even know anymore."

"What are you going to do if she comes to you? Her aunt and uncle made it pretty clear that they didn't want you to have anything to do with her." Jennifer said bringing that horrific conversation back to the front of my mind.

"I have more of a right to be in Rachel's life than they do, I gave birth to her for crying out loud!" I yelled before I was able to compose myself again.

"Shelby I know that and there is no one on this planet who wants you to have Rachel in your life more than me but there was that contract-"

"With Rachel's dad's not with her aunt and uncle. I just want to get to know her better and I mean more than just as a student. I want to be the one who she talks to when things are bothering her. Like this tape thing, it kills me that she is dealing with all of this alone and she has no one to talk to, I can see it." I said and Jennifer sighed.

"Maybe you should have been the one to tell her, you both are miserable." Jennifer said and I nodded.

"We are."

"How was your day Rach?" Aunt Mia asked as I walked into the house and I sighed.

This was something that we did everyday when I came home. My aunt would go through the motions of caring about how my day was and I would go through the motions of coming up with a response, honestly it was tiring and I just wanted to go in and crash on my bed.

"Fine." I said as I headed towards my room only to have my wrist grabbed and be pulled back into the living room.

"Not so fast kiddo, you have been disappearing all week, what is with you?" Aunt Mia asked and I shrugged surprised by my aunt's actions.

"Nothing much I just have been having long rehearsals and what not." I said tucking a loose piece of my hair behind my ear.

"I wanted to talk to you about that. Rachel I feel like I might have pushed you into joining Vocal Adrenaline when you didn't want to-"

"But I love Vocal Adrenaline, it might have been the best thing I have done in a while." I said leading to an awkward silence before I spoke up again. "Can I ask you a question?" I asked and Aunt Mia nodded.

"Of course you can sweetheart." Aunt Mia said with a huge smile on her face and I chewed on my bottom lip for a second before I decided to just go for it.

"Did you know my mom?" I asked and Aunt Mia sat shocked for a minute before she shook her head.

"I'm sorry baby, that was your father's deal. I never met her and I don't really know what to tell you. Why are you asking baby?" She asked and I sighed.

"I was just wondering. Do you think that she wanted me?" I asked and Aunt Mia shook her head.

"She answered an ad in the paper Rachel, she wanted the money not the baby that would come from the deal. But she doesn't know what she missed babe." Aunt Mia said stroking my hair lightly and I nodded.

"I have a lot of homework to do-"

"Go ahead and do it, I'll send Blaine up when dinner is ready." She said and I nodded as I quickly walked to my room.

Aunt Mia was right, my mom didn't want me. There was no other explanation for her absence from my life. She had to of known that my dads died, unless she didn't care. Maybe she was the person who I was willed to in the beginning and then when my dad went to commit suicide he checked to see if she even wanted me and when she said no he changed his will and then killed himself. It was the only explanation as to why my dads will was changed just hours before he hung himself.

I looked over at the tape as it sat there mocking me. I should get rid of it. I had a good life here with my aunt, she was sort of like my mom and she had been my entire life. I didn't need the woman who made that tape, but I wanted her, I wanted her so badly, I wanted her to want me like I wanted her.

I was so transfixed with looking at the tape that I didn't even notice when someone walked into my room.

"You still haven't played it huh?" Jesse's voice cut through the room and I couldn't help it when my breath hitched a little bit.

"When did you get here?" I asked pulling my knees into my chest and Jesse smiled as he walked over to the tape player and fiddled with the tape, twirling it between his fingers.

"Things like these are funny. I mean there is that one part of you that wants to know more than anything what this holds and then there is the other part of you that is scared-" Jesse said as he opened the tape and slide it into the tape player.

"Jesse I said I wasn't ready!" I said as I jumped up trying to stop him but it was too late as the sweet maternal voice filled the room.

"Call me if you need me." Jesse said as he placed a kiss on my cheek and I sat back on my bed.

"_Hi baby, this is your mom. I have so much that I want to say to you but I don't know how but I think the tape pretty much says it all sweet girl."_ The voice sounded so familiar but I couldn't place it.

Did I know the voice because it was similar to my own or was this a voice that I knew from being around. My mind was made up as the opening words to I Dreamed a Dream from Les Mis.

I didn't wait for the song to finish, I quickly shot up and slipped on my shoes and bolted out of my room. I could feel the hot tears streaming down my face and I didn't know what to do. I was so confused about what I was feeling that I didn't even bother with answering my aunt as I ran out of the house. To be honest I didn't know where I was going so I wasn't sure how to answer her question.

Somehow I went from driving down the road to sitting on a swing at some park toying with my phone trying to figure out who to call. Did Jesse know? Was that why he was pushing me to listen to the tape? I mean he had returned the papers a few days ago but he could have looked at them. Did Shelby know? I mean to her I was Rachel Anderson, maybe she really didn't know that I was her daughter. Then there was my aunt Mia, was that why she didn't want me to do VA, and then there was Mrs. Reynolds, my new aunt. I had to admit that part of this whole thing was actually sounding good.

I quickly scrolled through my contacts and wiped my eyes as I hit send.

It was a little after eight when my cell started going off.

"Are you going to get that?" Bryan asked turning his attention away from the television for a moment.

"I already talked to Shelby which means that it is probably our mother and that is one conversation that I do not want to be having right now." I said as I snuggled back into Bryan's arms only to have him move and grab my phone.

"Answer it Jen." He said holding my phone out to me and I sighed as I answered the phone.

"Hello?" I asked crossing my fingers that it wasn't my mother.

"Mrs. Reynolds it's Rachel Anderson-"

"Rachel what's wrong?" I asked hearing the choked back tears in her speech.

"Rachel? Is that Shelby's Rachel?" Bryan whispered and I nodded as I got up and walked into the other room.

"Rachel where are you?" I asked after there was a moment of silence.

"I'm at some park, I just need to-to um talk to someone and I didn't know who-"

"You're at Hyde Park, stay there I will be there in ten minutes. Do you need me to stay on the phone with you?" I asked as I searched my house for a pair of shoes to put on.

"No I'll be fine." Rachel said and I sighed as I found a pair of shoes and slipped them on.

"Where are you in the park?" I asked as I ran down the stairs and kissed Bryan goodbye as I headed out to my car.

"I'm sitting on the swings." Rachel said and I nodded, not that she could see me or anything.

"Okay I will be there in a minute don't leave." I said as I hung up the phone and slid into my car.

Hyde Park, out of all the places that Rachel could have gone she ended up there. It was hilarious how life worked sometimes. Shelby had met me at Hyde park the day she told me she was pregnant with Rachel. We met there once again when she told me about the horrid contract that she had to sign and how she was never going to be able to see her baby. We made plans for her to run away but she went into labor that night and the rest was history.

I easily found Rachel's Range Rover and I threw my car into park next to it and then took of towards the swings. All I knew was that Rachel wanted someone to talk to and that she was crying and I just needed to get to my niece as soon as I could.

"Did you know?" Rachel asked as I approached and I was slightly confused by her question.

"Know what?" I asked, taking a seat next to the girl who was no longer sobbing but seemed like an empty shell of the girl who I had grown to know.

"That your sister had a baby." Rachel said pushing the wood chips around with her feet as she looked at the ground below her.

"Yes, how did you-"

"I found a tape the other day. I was so scared to play that stupid thing and then tonight Jesse put it in the tape player and I just knew. Your sister, Ms. Corcoran is my mom." Rachel said as she looked up at me and I didn't know what to do.

I mean when Shelby had come up with this whole plan Rachel went to find her, not me. What was I suppose to do? I loved my sister to death but clearly Rachel was not ready for Shelby to know that she knew, not that I could keep the secret from Shelby to save my life.

"So you're Rachel Berry?" I asked knowing how stupid I sounded after the sentence left my mouth and Rachel let out a small laugh before she nodded.

"Yeah I am. How long have you figured that I was your niece?" She asked and I was a little taken back by her question.

"How did you- When-I-"

"I wasn't sure at first if you did think that I was your niece but when I think about your actions since the first day I met you I felt like there was more to it then just a teacher student relationship." Rachel said and I nodded.

"It was your looks that tipped me off."

"Does Shelby know?" Rachel asked and I shrugged being as I wasn't sure what to do.

"You are Rachel Anderson to her. She has been looking for you for so long that she had pretty much given up hope. I told her that I thought you could be her daughter but she was so quick to dismiss me."

"You can't tell her." Rachel said and I gave her a sad look.

"Why not?" I asked and Rachel sighed.

"Because I'm not sure what to make out of all of this. I mean my dads died last year and now I am living with my aunt who blatantly lied to me about my mother and I think Jesse knew, but that could be because he was holding on to all the papers that had all the information on them. I just- did she even want me?" Rachel asked and I nodded frantically.

"More than anything in the world Rachel. If it wasn't for that horrid contract that she had to sign she would have been there for every moment of your life." I said and she looked a little relieved.

"I'm sorry that I called you so late, I'm sure you were enjoying a nice evening with your husband and I just ruined it-"

"Rachel like you said I had this feeling about you since I first met you. I would have done anything for you, and I still will do anything for you, it's what family does." I said rubbing Rachel's back lightly in hopes to sooth the girl.

"This is weird." Rachel said and I quickly moved my hand away not wanting to scare the girl away.

"I'm sorry, I'm new to this whole thing." I said and Rachel let out a laugh that was like music to my ears.

"No not you, just this whole thing in general. This whole situation is weird, in a good way I think. I mean I want to get to know my mom but I am still scared that she won't want me, I guess this whole situation will allow for me to get to know my mom without her knowing she is my mom. That way when the time is right and I tell her she will know me enough to know that she wants me to be her daughter. Or maybe I can plant little clues so she can figure out that she is my mom and then she can decide if she even wants me-" Rachel said and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at how this kid thought so much like her mother.

"Just get to know her Rachel, I think you might be surprised at what you find." I said and she nodded.

"I guess. What time is it?" Rachel asked and I looked down at my phone.

"Late." I said and she nodded.

"I should get home, my aunt is going to kill me if she finds out I was out late-"

"Why don't I take you home. I can tell her that I was having car trouble and you stopped to help me. It's a lie but it is better than telling her the truth right now don't you think?" I asked and Rachel smiled.

"You would do that for me?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I mean what else am I good for? Plus your aunt doesn't really know me and even if she was suspicious she would doubt that you know anything and that I would have told you. This way you won't get into trouble for being out so late."

"Thanks, although I am still going to be in trouble for running out of the house like I did, but I guess I can crack that up to getting into a fight with Jesse or something." Rachel said with a shrug as she got up from the swing and I followed suit as the two of us walked towards our cars.

"Hey Rachel." I called before she got into her car and she turned to look at me.

"Yeah?" She asked and I smiled.

"I'm just going to let you know right now that if you ever try to pull a stunt like this on me it won't work, no matter what your reasoning is, if you run out of my house late at night expect to have a sore bottom when you return, and that is a promise." I said and Rachel chuckled.

"I promise I will keep that in mind when the time comes." Rachel said as she got into her car and I lowered myself into mine.

I followed Rachel back to her aunts house. From the looks of it no one even seemed to notice that Rachel had been gone. All the lights in the house were turned off and no one seemed to be moving about. I parked my car in the street and then got out and walked over to where Rachel was waiting for me.

"Well it looks like no one even noticed I was gone." Rachel said, sounding vaguely hurt by the situation.

"So I guess you don't need me to cover for you huh?" I asked and she shook her head.

"I guess I don't. Thank you for everything tonight it really meant a lot to me and I really appreciate you coming to listen to me-"

"Rachel you don't have to thank me for being there for you. Before I found out about you being my niece tonight you were one of my students and as a teacher I would do anything for my kids but as my family Rachel I need you to know that no matter what time of night you call and need me I will be there for you. There is not going to be a moment of the day that I am not going to worry about you or wonder how you are. I want you to know that you have an ally in me and that even though I can't tell my sister about you it doesn't mean that we can't start to develop our relationship. Do you understand that?" I asked and Rachel smiled for a second before she reached out and captured me in one of the biggest hugs of my life and I was more than happy to return the gesture.

"Good night Mrs. Reynolds." Rachel said as she pulled away and I smirked.

"Call me Jennifer when we are outside of school, we are family after all and Mrs. Reynolds sounds way too formal." I said and Rachel smiled from ear to ear.

"Jennifer? I like the sound of that. Well I better get going, I have an early morning tomorrow." Rachel said and I nodded as I watched her turn and leave.

"Call if you need anything!" I called after her and she turned and nodded before she slipped inside and I started the short walk back to my car.

It wasn't until I was on the way back home that the reality of what had happened hit me. I had just met Shelby's daughter as Shelby's daughter before Shelby did, this was not going to end well for me.

I parked my car in the driveway and then made my way back into my house where my husband was still sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Everything worked out?" He asked looking up at me and I shook my head.

"Not in the least. Rachel now knows that Shelby is her mom but she isn't ready to tell Shelby-"

"Oh by the way Shelby called again and she wants you to call her back." Bryan said and I went into panic mode.

"What did you tell her?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I just told her that you stepped out to go get some ice cream, she knows how you are about your ice cream." Bryan said and I smirked.

"You really are the best husband ever." I said as I planted a kiss on his lips and he laughed.

"I know. Now sit down and tell me everything that happened!"


	10. Chapter 10

A/n: _I know that I suck at updating but life has seriously gotten in the way recently! UGH LIFE! Anyway I am still writing and I DO have chapters written for this story that I have not posted and I WILL post them soon, three more weeks people and then this semester is over and I will get back to updating everything regularly I promise but for now take this chapter as a peace offering._

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**Rachel's POV:**_  
_

I was terrified about going to Vocal Tech. So far I had managed to stay away from Shelby and Jesse, but there was no way to avoid them when we were all confined to a closed space. There was always was the option to skip class but I would only end up in more trouble that way and that was not how I wanted my mother to remember me; Rachel Berry, the trouble maker.

When it came time to do so, I sucked up my nerves and walked into class as if nothing was wrong. Ms. Corcoran gave me a small smile as I took my seat, but it faded as quickly as it came when Jesse walked through the door and took a seat next to me.

"Where have you been? I've been trying to find you all day but it's like you've been avoiding me." Jesse said and I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe that is because I have been avoiding you." I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear, not that I was trying to hide the fact or anything.

"Wait, you've been avoiding-" I couldn't have been happier that the bell rang signaling the start of class in the middle of Jesse's sentence. This conversation was not one I wanted to have in front of anyone, especially my mother.

"Alright, today we are going to divide the class up and work on group numbers." Ms. Corcoran said as she quickly scribbled a note to herself on the roll sheet.

"What kind of groups?" Giselle asked and Ms. Corcoran smirked.

"How about a friendly boys vs. girls competition? You guys can plan today, rehearse tomorrow, and perform the following day. I will choose the winning group and to be fair I will also grab a male judge, oh and as an incentive to practice the winning team will have a homework pass that they can use at anytime. Now lets break up and I will walk around and monitor how things are going." Ms. Corcoran said and I all but jumped out of my seat in order to get away from Jesse who was still trying to figure out what was wrong.

I didn't have much to say in the entire process of choosing what song we were going to perform and about who was taking the lead. I knew that I should have stepped up and fought Giselle for the lead of the song but I just wasn't in the fighting mood right now. At the moment the only thing I could think about was how I was going to avoid Jesse until we had time to talk and work out the issues that we were having, well that I was having.

I was slightly startled by the bell ringing, I guess I was more out of it than I thought. I quickly gathered my things so that I could leave but I was not quick enough and Jesse caught my arm as I walked out of the room.

"Rachel, lets talk." Jesse said as he dragged me down the hallway and I pulled my arm from his grip but continued to follow him towards the auditorium. "What is going on?" Jesse asked as he turned to face me after the auditorium doors slammed shut behind us.

"How long have you known?" I asked and Jesse gave me a strange look.

"Known what? That you have been avoiding me like the plague?" He asked and I shook my head in pure rage.

"How long have you known that Ms. Corcoran is my mother?" I barked and Jesse recoiled a little.

"I-how-Rach-"

"Just tell me when you read the papers dammit!" I all but yelled and Jesse sighed.

"I have known for a while, but Rachel you told me you weren't ready-"

"So what you come over and pop in the tape against my will and just hope I can figure it out?" I asked and Jesse shook his head.

"That wasn't my plan Rachel. I just wanted you to listen to the tape so that you might be more comfortable with the idea of finding your mom. I'm sorry." Jesse said and I sighed.

"I'll still mad at you." I said with a pout and Jesse nodded.

"You have every right to be." Jesse said hanging his head a little.

"Thank you though." I said and Jesse instantly picked his head up and gave me a curious glance.

"You're thanking me?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yes. Even though I will never admit it, without your help I might have never of played that tape on my own and there is no way that I would have looked at those papers. Finding my mother would have just been a dream and nothing more than that." I said and Jesse smiled.

"Well although you are mad at me I am glad that I was still able to help you." Jesse said and I cracked a small smile. "When are you going to tell her?" Jesse asked and I shrugged.

"I don't think that I am going to tell her right away. I'm still not ready Jesse and I want to make sure that I won't get rejected when I do tell her. You can understand that right?" I asked and Jesse nodded.

"Of course, your secret is safe with me." He said and I let out a small sigh.

"Good. So do I want to know the details of the contract between my dads and Shelby or is it better that I don't know?" I asked and Jesse shrugged.

"I think it is important but if you don't want to know then you don't want to know." He said and I sighed.

"Well then I guess I should look at those papers." I said and Jesse nodded.

"As long as that is what you want." He said and I rolled my eyes knowing how much of a kiss up he was being at the moment.

"I'll see you at rehearsal Jesse." I said pulling away from him and he smiled as he pulled me back and placed a kiss on the top of my head before he walked away.

That was one thing with Jesse, no matter how mad I was at him he always had a way of making me fall under his spell and forgive him instantly. I was going to have to find a way to defend myself against that in the future.

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

"So she knows?" I asked as Jesse finished his little story time.

"Yes but she doesn't want to tell you yet. She just seemed so confused by the whole thing." Jesse said and I sighed.

"But she knows?" I asked again and Jesse nodded.

"Yes, for the hundredth time, she knows Shelby." Jesse barked and I just gave him a glare.

"Watch it. Anyway I owe you for this, you will have your letter of recommendation by tomorrow." I said and Jesse smiled.

"Technically I haven't finished the job and yet you are giving me payment early?" Jesse asked and I nodded.

"You have done more than I could hope for and I just want to let you know that I will no longer need your assistance, from here on out it will play out at Rachel's pace." I said and Jesse nodded as he got up.

"I really do like Rachel." Jesse commented. "And I just want you to know that I plan on continuing to date her for as long as she will let me."

"As long as that is how you feel then there shouldn't be a problem." I said trying to keep my feelings about them being together as out of it as I possibly could.

"Thank you, I guess I will see you at rehearsal then?" Jesse asked and I nodded.

"It starts in twenty minutes, you better be ready." I said with a smirk that Jesse returned.

"Am I never not ready?" He asked as he left and I shook my head.

"That kid." I murmured as I collected my notes and prepared myself for rehearsal.

Rehearsal was fine. The dances were coming along and I felt like in no time at all I would be working on every single minute detail in order to perfect this set list for sectionals. On top of what we were learning in order to perform I wanted to add in a few other numbers just to keep the kids on their toes and so that we had a backup set list in case something happened and what we were doing got leaked, but that was my next project to tackle. At this moment in time I was still in the process of perfecting, something that I loved and took great pride in.

Rehearsal ran about an hour over what I had scheduled but for what we got accomplished it wasn't too bad. Rachel was singing at a whole new level and she seemed less stressed than she had been before listening to the tape. It was good to see that Rachel wasn't fazed too much by me being her coach and her mother.

When everyone left rehearsal I stayed and made my way down to the stage. Sometimes when I had a lot on my mind after rehearsal I liked to get myself up on the stage and sing through my feelings and tonight was no different.

"_I could stay awake just to hear you breathin'_

_Watch you smile while you are sleeping_

_While you're far away and dreaming_

_I could spend my life in this sweet surrender_

_I could stay lost in this moment forever_

_Cause every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure_

_Don't wanna close my eyes_

_I don't wanna fall asleep_

_Cause I'd miss you babe_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing_

_Cause even when I dream of you_

_The sweetest dream will never do_

_I'd still miss you babe_

_And I don't wanna miss a thing-"_

"I don't know if that is an appropriate song for your daughter." I heard Jennifer joke from the back of the auditorium and I sighed as I stepped off of the stage down towards where Jennifer was waiting.

"As of yet she isn't my daughter. You know as much as I want her to take her time with this whole thing I just sort of wish she would hurry up already." I whined and Jennifer laughed.

"That kid never hurried up or did anything to make anything easy for anyone other than herself. She was late to being born and when she finally did come it was the day you were going to leave and take her away. She will come around Shel she just needs some time to straighten things out in her head." Jennifer said and I nodded knowing that she was right.

"I know, I know. I just wish she would talk to me or at least to someone other than Jesse, heck even Jesse at this point-"

"She is talking to people Shelby-"

"Who?" I asked getting the hint that Jennifer knew something that I didn't.

"She talked to me Shel." Jennifer said in a soft, low voice and I could feel my head spinning.

"She talked to you?" I asked and Jennifer nodded. "I'm her mom and she talked to you about all of this?"

"I told her that I wouldn't tell you, she has no idea that you know. She is just scared Shelby-"

"She isn't the one who should be scared right now, the only person who should be scared is you." I said with such fury that I could feel my body shaking with rage.

"Shelby-"

"Don't even Shelby me. Jennifer how could you? You know how I feel about all of this and you- you just talked to her about all this like it was no big deal. Did you even think about how I felt?" I asked and Jennifer sighed.

"I didn't seek her out, she called me."

"I should have been the first call that you made as soon as you got home from meeting with her. Were you even going to tell me about it?" I asked and Jennifer nodded.

"What do you think I am doing right now?" Jennifer barked and I rolled my eyes.

"Just leave Jen, please." I said and as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Is that what you want?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes it is." I said trying to keep myself together and remain strong.

"Call me if you need me." Jennifer said as she walked out of the auditorium.

As soon as she left I just collapsed into a seat in tears. Rachel was having a relationship with my own sister instead of me. I mean in all my years of imaging a relationship with Rachel I had imagined Rachel having a good relationship with my sister but never did I imagine her having a better relationship with my sister than with me. It felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest, she was my baby, MY BABY. I already had her other aunt gunning for me there was no way that I was going to compete with my own sister, I had to make it so Rachel wanted me as her mom. I had to make her jealous, that was the only way to get to her and that was what I was going to do.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

"Aunt Mia I am going to head out and meet with some friends for dinner, is that alright?" I asked and my aunt nodded.

"Yeah that is fine Rachel just text me an let me know when you are on your way home." Aunt Mia said as she passed by my room with a basket of laundry.

"I will." I called after her as I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Jennifer to ask if she wanted to meet up for dinner.

It was a few seconds later that I got a response from her saying that she would meet me in an hour at Craving. I was so excited about meeting up with Jennifer I ended up leaving super early and having to wait in my car for about ten minutes before she actually showed up.

"I hope you weren't here long, I just had to jump in the shower before I left." Jennifer said and I could tell that there was more to the story than she was telling due to the fact that her eyes were slightly red and puffy.

"Is everything alright?" I asked and she sighed.

"Yes-"

"Don't lie to me, I can tell that you were crying." I said and Jennifer smirked.

"You are just like Shelby sometimes. Yeah I am fine, just got into a little tiff with Shelby but like I said I am fine." Jennifer said as we made our way inside and I nodded not sure of what to say.

It was one thing when I got into fights with Cooper and Blaine, they were my cousins, the closest things I would ever have to siblings. And while I could say that on some level I understood what it was like to fight with someone like that, I really didn't. Anytime I would fight with my cousins we always went home to separate houses and our parents didn't have to choose sides, we were always right. But with siblings, that was a whole other issue that I had no experience with.

"So what was it like growing up with Shelby as a big sister?" I asked once we were seated.

"It was fun for the most part. Don't get me wrong your mother could be a complete bitch when she wanted to be and there was a lot of times that she was but she loved me and protected me in spite of our differences. It was really nice." Jennifer said and I smirked.

"You just called my mother a bitch." I said with a laugh and Jennifer nodded.

"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true, and you just called her your mother." Jennifer said and I nodded.

"I did. So tell me more about her, I mean I know about her as my coach but I sort of want to know more about her as a person."

"Well you could always tell her about this whole thing and then you get the chance to know her as a person." Jennifer teased and I rolled my eyes.

"No, there are two ways that this whole thing could play out once I tell her." I said and Jennifer cocked her head to the side and gave me a look.

"And what are those two ways?" She asked.

"Well the first option would be her going from my coach to being my mother and the second option is going from being my coach to being nothing at all to me because this whole thing is just too awkward for her, either way I don't get to know her as a person."

"First of all the later of the two is not going to happen, and even if it did she would still be your coach, your talent is far too rare to just give up." Jennifer said and I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks for the words of encouragement." I joked and Jennifer just smiled as the waitress came over to take our orders.

When the waitress was gone the conversation between Jennifer and I picked up again.

"So tell me more about Shelby." I said and Jennifer paused for moment.

"I will tell you that she is an organization freak, and I mean like she is SUPER ORGANIZED. Her favorite color is purple and she has a strange obsession with stars." Jennifer said and I sighed.

"Come on can't you tell me some embarrassing story or something. I pretty much knew everything that you just told me. I want to know the juicy details of her life that she would be mortified if she ever found out I knew." I said and Jennifer looked around before she leaned forward.

"If you repeat this story ever I will kill you, understand?" She asked and I nodded getting ready to soak in this information the best I could. "Okay so Shelby was a junior in high school when she got the brilliant idea to dye her hair. Of course she had previously asked our mother if she could but our mom told her no. Well Shelby is not one to take no very well so she bought hair dye and dyed her hair at one of her friends house. When our mother found out Shelby got her tan hided, and she was in high school, getting a spanking is more than just a little humiliating at that time in your life. Anyway the dye job that Shelby did was total crap but our mother made her keep her hair like that until it was back to its normal color. Shelby had the worst school pictures that year. Of course a year later our mom ended up taking Shelby to get her hair dyed professionally as an eighteenth birthday present. It's funny how the world works sometimes." Jennifer said and I couldn't help but smirk.

"I can't believe Shelby got spanked in high school." I said and Jennifer nodded.

"Yep and do something stupid enough and I am sure that I won't refrain from doing the same if you don't already have Shelby in the mother position at the time." Jennifer said and I shook my head.

"I don't do stupid things and I won't be needing a spanking thank you." I chided and Jennifer laughed.

"We'll see about that one little miss priss. But in all seriousness there would be no spanking unless you became some unruly teenage brat, but I don't think anyone has to worry about that being as I don't see you that often and my sister doesn't know you are her daughter." Jennifer said and I nodded.

"Speaking of which when do you think I should tell her?" I asked and Jennifer shrugged.

"That is up to you little one. If I had a say in it I would have told her when you first found out but that is just me. You just have to do what feels right to you Rachel. If that means that you go home and tell her tomorrow then that is great or if you feel like waiting a few months that is fine, you just have to be sure that you are comfortable with your own choices." Jennifer said and I honestly just wanted to give her a huge hug. She seemed to be the only person who was understanding what I was wanting. I mean Jesse said a lot of things but he didn't understand my needs, but Jennifer, she did.

"Thank you." I said with a small smile that Jennifer returned.

"Your welcome, now tell me about being a vegetarian, what is that like?"

The rest of dinner was a blast. Jennifer refused to tell me anymore embarrassing stories about Shelby but it was okay because instead she told me a few great stories of when Shelby was in high school and what an amazing performer she had been destined to be before she blew it in New York. That part was a little depressing but Jennifer assured me that I was going to make it no matter what because I was a second generation star and all of Shelby's imperfections, which Jennifer listed, had been corrected in me. I have to say that was the weirdest compliment that I had ever received but it was totally worth it. I was actually starting to feel like I could tell Shelby about our hidden relationship and it was going to be okay. I mean I had clicked instantly with Jennifer and she was only my aunt, there was no way that I was not going to click with my own mother, not when we had so much in common. I was going to tell her, as soon as rehearsal was over tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/n: AND NOW THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...MAYBE**

**Rachel's POV:**

I just had to get through rehearsal, that was it. I had everything all planned out in my mind and there was no way that Shelby was going to reject me, not with the way that Jennifer described her, there was no way. I was walking down the hallway when I felt my heart drop. Shelby was standing there giving a hug to Andrea, one of the girls on VA.

It was weird, Shelby wasn't a hugger, and on top of that there was no reason for her to be giving a hug to Andrea. I mean she seemed like she was in good health and she surely didn't seem sad, so I doubted that someone had just died. Maybe I was just reading too much into this whole thing. Maybe Andrea was moving and Shelby was just saying goodbye, yeah that had to be it.

I held my head up high as I walked closer to where they were. I was hoping to pass by without being noticed but Ms. Corcoran locked eyes with me and motioned for me to stop.

"Good morning Rachel." Ms. Corcoran said with a smile and I gave her a nervous smile as I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"Morning."

"I have to get to class Ms. C but we are on for my voice lesson at lunch today right?" Andrea asked and Ms. Corcoran nodded.

"Of course I will see you then." Ms. Corcoran said and I felt my throat tighten, I had lessons with Shelby at lunch, no one else.

"I'm sorry but I thought I usually had my lessons at lunch." I stated and Ms. Corcoran nodded.

"That's right, how about we reschedule your lesson for after rehearsal-"

"You were going to help me out with the routine after rehearsal." Andrea added in and Ms. Corcoran paused for a moment.

"How about you go get something to eat right after rehearsal and I will squeeze in a short lesson with Rachel?" Ms. Corcoran asked and Andrea's face lit up with a smile.

"Okay!" The girl said before bounding down the hall and I did my best to remain composed.

"That is alright isn't it Rachel?" Ms. Corcoran asked and I gave her a small nodded.

"Of course, I have to go, Jesse is waiting for me." I said before I briskly walked away from where Shelby was.

There had been no imagining anything. If Andrea was being helped with the dance that only meant that she wasn't moving and that wasn't a goodbye hug this morning. Shelby was replacing me as her daughter. Granted she didn't know that I was her daughter but still she was replacing me. Was it that easy? I mean I had my aunt who had stepped into a mother like role but she wasn't my mother, I never saw her that way. I could never in a million years dream of replacing my mother, Shelby or not, but there was my mother clearly replacing me and not even with a better version. Andrea was at best a three on the scale of one to Rachel, Rachel of course being an eleven.

I wasn't sure how I was feeling as I slipped into Jennifer's class. One part of me was furious at Shelby and Andrea and the other part of me was hurt by what was happening. There was nothing that I could do. There was no way that I was going to be telling her that she was my mother now, she didn't want me. At this point the only thing that I could do was to try and sway her into favoring me again.

I barely paid any attention in my classes today and it was strange to not have a vocal lesson at lunch. I mean it wasn't like I always had vocal lessons at lunch but today was suppose to be my day.

Jesse drove me off campus to grab lunch but I wasn't really hungry. I picked at the salad that Jesse had purchased from me while Jesse rambled on about something broadway.

"Rachel are you even listening to me?" Jesse asked at some point after I had completely spaced out.

"Not really. Sorry." I said and Jesse let out a sigh.

"What is eating you?" He asked and I shrugged.

"Nothing really I've just had a rough morning."

"Weren't you suppose to have a vocal lesson or something?" Jesse asked and I nodded.

"Yes but Ms. Corcoran decided that Andrea needed the vocal lesson at lunch more than I did." I said and Jesse let out a small laugh.

"Someone is bitter." Jesse remarked and I glared at him causing his smirk to falter just a bit.

"I'm not bitter, I am only a little upset because now I have to stay after rehearsal in order to make up my lesson that I should of been having right now. That is the only problem that I am having right now." I barked and Jesse nodded as he leaned in closer to me so no one else could hear what he was about to say.

"Are you sure you aren't a little mad that someone else is spending time with your mom?" Jesse asked and I shook my head.

"No, I am sort of upset because I was going to tell her about the whole thing today after rehearsal but now I have my voice lesson and then she is working with Andrea on her dancing, her schedule is just postponing everything." I said with a sigh as Jesse grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips and placed a delicate kiss on my hand. "What was that for?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Just because I wanted to." Jesse remarked and I got up from my seat.

"So tell me more about this Spring Awakening romance you are channeling for your college audition?" I said as Jesse plastered a huge smile on his face and followed me out to his car.

"I knew you were listening!" He remarked and I couldn't help but grin as he wrapped an arm around my waist as we walked together outside.

Rehearsal was hellish on my voice. It seemed like we were constantly running through the pieces that we had and my voice was in the process of giving out by the time rehearsal was over.

"Alright so lets call it a day. I want everyone to be on top of it tomorrow, what happened today will not fly at tomorrow's rehearsal. I want everyone to have the dances down as well, your half-hearted efforts are starting to get on my nerves and you know what happens when things get on my nerves. Now head home, Rachel you have a ten minute break before we start your lesson." Shelby said and I nodded as I walked off stage with Jesse to grab my water.

"Hey can you walk this out to my car? I have to go talk to Shelby about something for a second and then I will meet you out there in a minute so we can say goodbye." Jesse said as he handed me his bag and I nodded before I turned on my heel and walked out of the building.

I had just gotten to Jesse's car when Giselle came up behind me and sighed.

"Sucks doesn't it?" Giselle asked and I gave her a confused look not quite understanding what she was getting at.

"What sucks?" I asked as I placed Jesse's bag on the ground next to his car.

"Being replaced. I don't even know what you did wrong, you are a pretty decent singer, it's a shame that Shelby likes Andrea better." Giselle chided as she circled around me like a shark at feeding time.

"What are you talking about I'm not being replaced." I said as confidently as I could but I could tell that Giselle was not buying it.

"You don't have to lie to me Rachel. I once was the shining star of VA, I was the lead and the apple of Shelby's eye then Jesse came along and I was cast aside like yesterday's newspaper. And when you came along Jesse was cast aside and now you are being cast aside for Andrea, why I have no idea, you are clearly a better singer but maybe Shelby sees something I don't." Giselle said in a way that made me feel inferior.

"But Jesse still is a lead-"

"Sort of, he used to play a bigger role before you came, now he is just a supporting role, which may be more than you will become."

"How do you know this?" I asked and Giselle smiled.

"Your lesson got moved didn't it? The prized time was given to Andrea and you were stuck with some left over time that Shelby had. You can ask Jesse if you don't believe me, he used to have lessons before you came and then he got pushed to doing it whenever Shelby could fit him in and now she is just too busy for him. It will only be a matter of time before you just become a human prop with a great blended voice." Giselle said as Jesse walked up to us.

"What is going on here?" Jesse asked as he protectively wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Nothing, I have to go." I said as I quickly gave Jesse a kiss and then walked off towards the auditorium.

It was weird, I knew that a small part of why Giselle was telling me all of this was because she wanted to mess with me but another part of me could not help but think that there was some truth to what she was saying. I knew that Jesse had taken lessons from Shelby, he had told me as much. I also knew that at one point in time Giselle and Shelby were on good terms, was Giselle my fate? Was Shelby rejecting me? Was I that bad of a person that she was rejecting me without even knowing that she was my mother? What would of happened if I told her she was my mom? Would I have the same fate?

I wasn't sure what I was doing and before I had even realized what was happening was I pacing in the back of the auditorium. Shelby was seated at the director's table taking notes on something as I came to a stop. I was no longer sure of my self, was I ready to tell her that she was my mom? Could I handle rejection if that was what it came down to? I wasn't sure and I knew that if I wasn't sure then there was no way that I could tell her.

"Rachel are you ready?" Ms. Corcoran asked without looking up.

I was stuck where I was at the moment. Her simple question had answered a hundred of mine. I was ready, scared but ready. It was in that moment that I realized that rejection or not Shelby was my mother and nothing was going to change that and at the moment the only way for our relationship to change was for her to get over my fears and dive head first into this, damn the consequences.

"Rachel? Are you alright?" Shelby asked as she got up and turned around to face me and I shook my head.

"I- I'm, no I'm not alright. I can't do this right now, I'm sorry." I said taking a hesitant step back.

"Rachel-"

"I've been lying to you." I said cutting her off and she gave me a concerned look.

"What? How? What are you talking about?" She asked and I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.

"I've been lying to you since I first came to Carmel. I've been lying to everyone actually, I hope you'll forgive me." I said and for the first time ever Ms. Corcoran was speechless. "My name is Rachel Berry and I am your daughter."

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

I didn't know what to do. This was really happening, now, right here. Rachel was telling me what I wanted to hear for so long and yet something was so off with the timing. Had I done the wrong thing in trying to rush her into it? Maybe she really wasn't ready and I was forcing her into something she didn't want. It wasn't until a moment later that I realized that neither one of us had said anything since her announcement.

"Maybe we should sit down." I finally said and Rachel nodded as we walked to sit in two different rows.

Rachel was sitting in the row in front of mine, a few seats over while I pulled my feet up onto the chair with me and waited for her to say something. I wasn't sure how I was feeling at the moment and I could tell that she felt the same way. It was almost comforting in that weird awkward way.

"God I'm thirsty right now." Rachel finally said and I just gave the back of her head an awkward look.

"What?" I asked and she let out a small laugh, I guess finally realizing how what she said was so strange to me.

"When I was little and I was sad, upset, or confused my dads used to bring me a glass of water so that I would calm down and I guess after a while I started to confuse the two." Rachel said and I nodded solemnly.

"What happened to your dads Rachel?" I asked and she let out a long sigh.

"They died a little over a year ago, one from cancer, the other from suicide." Rachel said and I felt terrible asking her that question.

"I'm so sorry Rach-"

"Don't be, please I have been pitied enough." Rachel said without shedding a single tear and I nodded for a moment before I looked at my watch and said a silent curse in my head.

"I have Andrea coming soon." I said and Rachel nodded.

"I should be heading home." Rachel said as she slowly got up and I quickly got to my feet as well.

"I'll-I'll call you, we'll do dinner or something." I said and Rachel nodded.

"Yeah." She said before she turned and walked out of the auditorium and I sunk back into the seat I had just sighed.

I sent off a quick text to Andrea to let her know that we would have to reschedule on her dance lesson and then I went about gathering my things before I left for the day.

This meeting with Rachel was not what I had anticipated. I guess in my mind I was expecting a warm welcome, her throwing herself into my arms, letting me hold her and just walk into the mothering role that I craved so much to fill. What I had received instead was the broken girl who dearly missed her fathers and was looking for a place in this world.

Rachel Anderson was just a facade that Rachel put up during the day, Rachel Berry on the other hand was a very hurt, very withdrawn, girl and I wasn't sure if I was ready to take that on.

I mean as much as I loved Rachel, she did come with a lot of baggage. I had baggage of my own and I was not sure if I was what was right for Rachel, as much as I wanted to be.

There was something about Rachel that scared me. I mean she was talented and beautiful but she wasn't strong, not really anyway. She pretended really well but I could see it in her eyes, underneath all her acting and pretending was a girl who would crumble at the slightest touch and I didn't want to be the reason that she retreated.

I wasn't quite sure how I had made it home. One moment I was in the school parking lot and the next moment I was sitting in the parking lot of my condo just staring as rain poured outside. As confused as I was about this whole situation I knew that I had left Rachel in a horrible place and I needed to do something about it but there was nothing that I personally could do. Everything was just a mess, and I HATED messes.

I waited until the rain let up a little bit before I got out of my car and made my way up to my condo. This was everything that I wanted wasn't it? I had been searching for that little girl for so long and now that I finally had her I wasn't sure. Me, Shelby Corcoran, was unsure about something. I felt so out of place and I was scared, I am scared.

I quickly made my way into the kitchen and got myself a large glass that I could pour wine into and then picked out the bottle that I had been saving and opened it, not wasting any time in pouring it into the glass and then taking a few long sips. What in the world had I done?

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

I felt so lost. She had rejected me. After everything that I had pushed aside in order to bring myself to tell her that I was her daughter and she did exactly what I was afraid of, she rejected me. What had I done so wrong in my life to have all these bad things happen to me? Was I a terrible person in another life? First I had my father's ripped away from me and now my own mother was pulling herself away from me as well, this was so unfair.

I left my car in the driveway at my aunt's and then started walking down the street. Black clouds were starting to gather over head and I knew that soon it would start to rain but nothing really mattered anymore. Everything hurt and there was nothing that I could do about it. My dad had promised me that everything would be okay when he got sick. He had promised and since that promise everything had turned out so wrong. He got sicker and sicker until he finally died leaving me with an unstable grief stricken parent and because of that I felt like I couldn't be sad. I couldn't lose it when I was the only one holding it together. I didn't even get to say goodbye because I was in school when he passed, he had assured me that he would be okay until I got to see him again. He promised me that everything would be fine.

It seemed like my life was just falling all around me. It went from a broken promise of my one father to my other father alienating himself from me leaving me alone in this world and he cemented that feeling when he took his life.

My aunt and uncle loved me in their way but it wasn't enough, it would never be enough. I wasn't their child, I was their burden and I felt it every minute I was in that house. No one was sure of the proper amount of space to give me because no one knew if I would end up anything like my father. In fact it took three months to convince my aunt that I could handle shaving alone without trying to kill myself.

I was just starting to accept that this was how my life was going to be when Jennifer came along giving me the false hope of being able to take shelter with my mother, but that was just a lie as well. This whole thing was her fault. I told her that this would happen, I was used to life and it's disappointments for me, but she had to instill false hope in me. She had to let me believe that everything was going to be okay. I bet she didn't even love me, this all was just some farce to all of them. I was just some sick joke that the world created so that everyone else could get their kicks.

It was pouring rain by the time that I got to Jennifer's house but there was no part left of me that cared. All that mattered at this moment was that I was going to rip her a new one for what she and her sister did to me.

I took my shaking hand and pounded on her front door as hard as I could. I really didn't care what she had going on right now she was going to listen to me and then I was going back to my aunt's house to live out the rest of my mundane life.

It was a few minutes later that the door was pulled open by who I assumed to be Jennifer's husband.

"Rachel?" He asked and I sighed as I uncrossed my arms and tapped my foot once with annoyance.

"Is Jennifer here? I want to talk to her." I snapped and he shook his head for a moment before he stole a glance at his watch.

"She is at some parent teacher conferences, she won't be home until later. You're soaking wet, did you walk here?" He asked as he checked the driveway and I sighed.

"Well I sure as hell didn't fly! Just let Jennifer know that I was here and that she can stay the hell out of my life, I don't need her or her damn sister!" I yelled before I spun on my heels and headed back out to the pouring rain.

"Wait, do you want a ride?" The man asked and I sighed.

"Not really." I said and he hesitated for a moment before he took a step towards me.

"Yeah well I'm not really going to take no for an answer. You may be mad at my wife and my sister-in-law but there is no reason to be mad at me and refuse a ride home to keep you out of the rain. Wait there I will be back with my keys in a second." The man said as he slipped back into the house only to appear a second later with the keys in his hand and a coat over his shoulders. "It's the white truck." He said pointing out to the driveway as he unlocked the doors and I nodded as I quickly made my way over to his car.

"Are you cold?" He asked as he started his truck and I just shrugged as I tried to hold off the shivers that were racking my entire body.

"You really didn't have to do this." I said a few minutes into our drive as I felt the heat from the truck sooth my entire being.

"Well I wasn't going to let you freeze." He said thinking that I was talking about the heat and I let a small smile slip to my lips.

"I was talking about taking me back to my aunt and uncle's house." I corrected and he blushed slightly before he cleared his throat trying to not seem embarrassed.

"Oh well, it wasn't like I was doing anything important. I mean your aunt just left me a list of tasks that she wanted me to complete before she got back but you are a pretty good excuse as to why they didn't get done. So I guess I should be thanking you." He joked and I rolled my eyes.

"I don't think I ever got your name. I mean you clearly know who I am yet here I am taking a ride from a complete stranger in a sense." I said and he smirked.

"My name is Bryan. See now I am not a complete stranger, I am just mostly a stranger." He joked and I let out a small laugh.

"Thank you for the ride, I appreciate it." I said as he pulled up to my aunts house and he nodded.

"No problem Rachel." He said as I went to grab the door handle. "Rachel wait a second." Bryan said causing me to stop short in fully opening the door and making my escape.

"Yes?" I questioned and he sighed.

"Look I don't know what happened to make you so upset with your aunt Jennifer but I do know that she loves you more than anything in the world. She had been over the moon since she found out about you, seeing her like that sort of makes me want to have my own children with her. I guess what I am saying is that I don't know what happened and I can't speak for Shelby but I can say that maybe you should talk to Jennifer when you aren't so angry and try to work things out. You may benefit more from going to talk to her with the intention of listening." Bryan said and I nodded before I reached over and gave him a small hug before I slipped out of the car back into the pouring rain.

Bryan was right, the only thing that would of happened tonight was a yelling match and what needed to happen was open and honest communication. I guess the talk I wanted to have with Jennifer was just going to have to wait a few more days.

* * *

_A/n: so not what you were expecting right? Anyway I have two days of exams and then I have freedom for a little while which will be when I majorly get back into the swing of updating so until then just bask in the mess that I left this story in!_


	12. Chapter 12

**Rachel's POV:**

I tried my best to avoid both Jennifer and Shelby at school, which was hard being as they were both my teachers but I seemed to manage for the most part. It was way too late in the year to try to change out of their classes and for the most part their classes were the only ones keeping my GPA up at this point.

Jennifer tried to talk to me a couple of times but I was able to get out of talking to her due to having rehearsals for VA, which were not what I really wanted to be doing with my time but it beat having to try to explain to Jennifer why I had visited her house a few weeks ago.

While Jennifer was hounding me to try and find out what had been bothering me the past few weeks, Shelby seemed to play the whole thing off like it never happened. Her treatment of me was no different than anyone else on the team, if anything she just ignored my presence a little more than everyone else's. Jesse was supportive about the whole thing but he knew that it was bugging me and he was not letting it rest.

This whole ordeal seemed to cause a snowball effect in my life. My grades started slipping, my home life was nonexistent, the only thing that I seemed to be doing these days was performing. Whether it was to pretend like everything was okay so no one caught on to how much I was hurting or if it was for a VA performance that Shelby wouldn't allow to be anything other than flawless. I had become an actress in my own life and there was nothing other than emptiness that I was feeling at the moment.

"Shelby called another lunch rehearsal for tomorrow." Jesse said as he waited for me at my locker and I just gave a simple nod as I pushed my lunch to the side knowing that I would have to throw it away later to keep it from stinking up my locker.

"Okay." I said as I turned around and Jesse let out a sigh.

"Are you alright?" He asked and I nodded as I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and closed my locker so that we could get going to class.

"Yeah I'm just a little tired. I stayed up way too late last night studying for a spanish test that I have to take today." I lied knowing that tiredness was a plausible reason for my actions.

"Rachel-"

"Don't Jesse. I'm tired that is all and you can't say that I am not tired because I really am and that is it." I snapped, something that had been becoming more and more prevalent in my behavior.

"So this entire last week you have just been tired? And the week before that and before that? Rachel this is a load of crap and you and I both know it. I mean you may have a spanish test today but you and I both know that you didn't study. Your grades have been tanking recently and you don't care so there is no way that you stayed up studying-"

"Fine I stayed up last night silently crying myself to sleep because I can't take it anymore Jesse! Is that what you want to hear? Do you want to hear that I have reached my limit and I'm over this whole thing but I can't kill myself because of what my dad did to me. Is this what you want to hear?" I asked as tears poured down my face and Jesse just pulled me into his arms and let me bury my face in his chest.

"You need to talk to someone Rach. This isn't healthy, you can't cope like you have been. You have been losing weight, your grades are slipping, and you aren't the Rachel that I love and know. You need to talk to someone."

"Like who Jesse? Who wants to hear about my problems? I can't just go to some counselor and whine to her about everything in my life. You are all I have Jesse and I don't want to burden you." I cried as I felt a foreign hand on the small of my back and Jesse pulled away from me as a new set of arms was wrapped around me.

"Get to class Jesse, I'll take it from here." Jennifer said as she walked the both of us to her office.

* * *

**Jennifer's POV:**

Rachel had been distant lately and after Bryan told me about the night she came over I had been trying to talk to the girl but she acted as if she wanted nothing to do with me. Shelby wasn't helping either, I mean for goodness sakes neither one of them were really talking to me and it was driving me up a wall.

Rachel was silently sobbing in the chair a few feet away from me and I was really at a loss at what to do for her. I mean Rachel was not giving me anything to work with and from what I was seeing and what I overheard her and Jesse talking about this girl was hurting and someone needed to do something about it or she was just going to become a self destructive time bomb.

"So you want to talk to someone?" I asked as I took a seat on the edge of my desk so that I was able to give Rachel some space but I wasn't too far incase she needed a hug or someone to hold her.

"No, I-I just. She didn't want me. You told me that she loved me more than anything and yet she didn't want me." Rachel sobbed and I got up and took her into my arms and ran my fingers through her long brown hair.

"Hey, take deep breaths sweetie." I said trying to get her calmed down a little before I even tried to process what in the world she was trying to tell me.

"You promised that she wouldn't reject me, I trusted you!" Rachel sobbed again as she tried to push me away with her tiny fist but I just pulled myself closer to her in order to ensure her that I was not going anywhere.

"Who rejected you Rach?" I asked and she paused for a moment before she let out a long sigh.

"Shelby."

It was nothing more than a mere whisper that escaped Rachel's lips and had she of not had her head on my chest I doubt that I would have heard what she had said but I did hear what she said and as this broken girl lay sobbing in my arms my fury grew inside of me.

How dare my sister do this to Rachel. She was the one who had been looking for her for years now and when she was finally presented with what she wanted most she walked away from it? This all made no sense to me, she was so mad at me for what little of a relationship that I was forming with Rachel and yet when she was presented with an opportunity to form her own relationship with the girl she walked away. I mean Rachel literally had no one and my sister knew that yet she was pushing this child away. I mean what kind of monster had my sister turned into because the girl who I grew up with would never had done something like this to anyone, related or not.

I wasn't sure what to say to Rachel. I mean nothing that I came up with in my head was going to help Rachel right now. No words were going to help her and we both knew that. Somehow I could just tell that me sitting in silence with Rachel, holding her, was enough.

I wrote Rachel an excuse note for the rest of the day and then I sent her ahead to my house while I stayed behind in order to talk to a certain sibling of mine who was about to be in for the biggest verbal lashing of her life.

I was on a mission as I stalked down the hallways. People always said that my sister was scary when she was angry but she had nothing on me. Being angry was something that I had perfected over the years. Shelby was the golden child, Shelby could never do anything wrong, I was the one who was blamed for everything. Anger was a feeling that I knew very well and it was something that I could not contain once I had let a little seep out. Yes people thought that Ms. Corcoran was scary but she was nothing compared to Mrs. Corcoran.

I knew that Shelby was in the middle of teaching one of her VA classes but I also knew that there would be a greater effect if I was to storm into her class room and interrupt her. Interruptions were my big sister's largest pet peeve and I think that it was only fitting that I irritated her just a little before I unleashed a whole lot of whoop-ass on her.

I took one deep breath before I flung her classroom door open and stormed into her classroom. It was almost as quickly as I stormed into her room as it was that my sister's head snapped my direction and her green eyes glared into mine, she was really not happy right now and if I had not of been as mad as I was I probably would have apologized and come back at a different time.

"Mrs. Reynolds can I help you with something?" My sister asked and I gave her a firm nod.

"Yes you can actually." I stated and she pursed her lips a little.

"Can it wait? I happen to be in the middle of class right now and I don't really need any distractions being as VA has a competition coming up and my lead singer is no where to be found." Shelby said throwing my anger over the edge.

"Of course you don't know where your lead singer is because, your lead singer is in the middle of dealing with everyone in her life leaving her and the main cause of her melt down could care less about how she was actually feeling being as you only ever wanted another soul-less automaton for your little collection! Shelby she is your daughter for goodness sakes, you think you would care enough to at least inquire as to why she isn't in your class today!" I shouted only realizing my mistake a fraction of a second too late.

The whispers quickly grew among the students that were sitting to my right. I had forgotten the little detail where no one knew that Shelby had a daughter and then the little added bonus that everyone knew who the lead singer was and even these dense monkeys could piece together that Rachel was Shelby's daughter.

"Jesse take everyone to the stage and get them started on warming up." Shelby said as she set down the papers that had been in her hand. "NOW!" She bellowed after seeing the hesitation that was plastered all over the faces of her team.

It took a minute for the room to clear but once it did I knew that a war was about to begin.

"Well thanks a lot for letting the entire student body know that I have a daughter and that my daughter and I aren't on what I would call speaking terms right now." Shelby said acting as if I had ruined her life or something.

"Whoa, where the hell do you get off playing the victim right now, you do realize that you broke that girl right?" I asked and Shelby just shrugged.

"I didn't really do anything. I mean she came to me and it was all wrong, it was not the way that I thought it would go at all." Shelby said turning to straighten her desk and I let out a scoff.

"What the hell do you think this is Shel, a movie? If you want a relationship with someone you have to make it work. You have to put in effort and you have to want to make it work. Not everything in life just happens Shelby. I mean what did you think would happen, Rachel would come to you and there would be a slow motion run into each other's arms after all these years apart? I hate to be the one who has to break it to you but that is not the way that things work in real life. Trust me."

"What do you want me to do about it Jennifer? I can't force something I don't feel." Shelby said and I rolled my eyes in frustration.

"The thing is Shelby you do feel it, I know you do. You have been waiting for Rachel since you gave her up and now that she was just handed to you she lost her appeal. You like having to work for something but once that challenge is gone you lose interest-"

"I do not!" Shelby protested.

"Oh really, what about cheerleading? You gave that up after a week."

"That was because it wasn't my passion-"

"Cooking?"

"Seriously? You bring that up, I hate cooking-"

"And what about Vocal Adrenaline?" I asked and her eyes hardened a little bit.

"I am not tired of coaching VA." She snapped and I smirked.

"Oh really? I remember back to your first year as the coach. You were on top of every single member that you had on your team. You whipped them into shape and there was no one who could hold a candle to your team but now you just beat the kids to death for something to do and there are numerous teams who are taking great strides in order to take your team down. The passion that you used to have for coaching is gone because things just started getting handed to your team. And now the same thing happened with Rachel. You were all for having her for a daughter until it became easy."

"Get out. I don't need to deal with your crap anymore Jennifer. You are my sister and I love you but if you don't leave I am going to kill you. You know nothing about me and how dare you come in here accusing me of something that you know nothing about. I love Rachel to death but I can't be what Rachel needs right now and I would do nothing but harm the girl if I were to get involved in her life right now-"

"You know nothing about Rachel and her life then, because the only thing that she wanted was for you to love her and be her mom, nothing more." I said before I turned and walked out of her room down the hall.

There was nothing more I could do with Shelby, she had made up her mind, but there was a broken hearted little girl that was waiting for me and I was going to be sure that I was there for her.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

I wasn't sure if I should go to Jennifer's house but I really had no other option. I mean I could go home but if my aunt found out that I was not in school right now she would have my head. She really didn't pay too much attention to my school life but skipping was not something that she tolerated and I was not about to give her a reason to look further into my school stuff right now.

I parked my car in Jennifer's driveway and then took a deep breath before I turned off my car and headed towards her front door. I pulled the key she had given me out of the pocket of my jacket and unlocked the front door.

I stepped just inside the entry way before I closed the door behind me and placed the key on the table besides the door so I wouldn't forget to give it back to her when I left. I took another step inside before I took my jacket off and carried it with me to the couch in the living room.

I felt out of place just sitting here alone but I had to admit that I was more comfortable here than I was at my aunt's house. There were pictures around the room of Jennifer and her husband along with different family photos. The entire place just felt more like a house than my aunt's place. It was almost like I was home again.

I spent a good amount of time walking around and checking out the different pictures that were hung on the walls. There was one picture in general that captured my attention. It seemed like there were a ton of their family around and everyone was so happy. Jennifer was being securely held in Bryan's arms while everyone else gathered around them with champagne in hand. It was a real happy moment that had been captured.

"That picture was taken the day that Bryan and I announced our engagement to our families." Jennifer said and I whirled around not having heard her enter the house.

"You guys seem really happy." I said as I took a step away from the photo and she nodded.

"We are really happy. Now would you like something to eat? I was going to make some grilled cheese being as it cold outside and I didn't really have time to eat lunch." Jennifer said as she made her way into the kitchen and I followed behind her still with my jacket laid over my arms.

"I'm fine thank you." I said and she gave me a look before she went to the fridge and started to pull out the things she needed.

"Just lay your jacket where ever and you are eating something so if you don't want grilled cheese tell me what else you would like." Jennifer said and I opened my mouth to argue but quickly closed it seeing as there was no way to get out of having to eat something.

"Grilled cheese is fine thank you." I said and she let a small smirk creep onto her lips as she went about assembling the sandwiches.

I watched from the counter as she made the sandwiches. I envied her for the way that she could cook. I was helpless when it came to the kitchen and cooking. I mean something as simple as grilled cheese would be a disaster if I tried to cook it. That was why most of the times when no one cooked for me I would just end up eating a bowl of cereal or something that required no heating of any type.

"What's going through that head of yours?" Jennifer asked as she slipped the sandwich in front of me on a plate.

"I was just admiring that you know how to cook. I can't even heat up stuff in the microwave without causing a natural disaster." I joked and Jennifer smiled.

"Trust me, spend one weekend with my husband and you will be a gourmet chef in no time." She said as she took a seat next to me.

"Your husband seems really nice." I said after a bite of the sandwich and she nodded.

"He is wonderful." She said as my stomach let out a loud growl and I blushed being as I didn't know I was that hungry.

"Sorry." I murmured when my stomach was finished and Jennifer just let out a small laugh.

"It's okay, but don't lie about not being hungry next time. It's not good to starve yourself." Jennifer said with a new found hint of seriousness that I had never heard from her before and I just nodded.

"I won't." I said and she nodded as she finished up her sandwich and then slipped her plate into the sink.

She waited with me while I ate and when I was done she slipped my dish into the sink as well and then she escorted me into the living room.

When we were seated on the couch she looked over at me for a moment before she sighed and interrupted the silence.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner Rachel?" She asked and I shrugged.

"I didn't think that you would care too much and I was angry, I am still angry. I mean you said that she wouldn't deny me and she did. I was just so hurt and confused I guess I thought that once you found out she wanted nothing to do with me you would push me away just like she did so I tried to push you away first." I said and Jennifer nodded as she ran a hand through my hair.

"Let me tell you a secret kid, I am a lot of things but I am not my sister. I would never in a million years turn my back on my family and I would never push you away-"

"You say that now." I murmured pulling away from her a little only to have her place her hand under my chin and force me to look up at her.

"Hey, there is nothing in this world that would make me push you away from me kid. I have missed out on far too much of your life to not get to be a part of it now, alright?" Jennifer asked and I nodded slightly to appease her for the time being. "Okay so now are you going to tell me about your grades or do I need to use my teacher skills to find out just how much you have fallen behind?" Jennifer asked and I sighed.

"Well you know how I am doing in your class-"

"Which was why I didn't know that you were falling behind. What are your other classes like?" She asked and I shrugged.

"It's nothing that I can't fix-"

"You mean it's nothing that you won't fix." Jennifer corrected.

"I know."

"List the classes and the grades please and if for any reason I think you are lying to me I will look up the grades myself." Jennifer said and I nodded as I began to list off my classes.

"Well you know what I have in your class. I have a C in History, a B- in Spanish, and D in Math, and then A's in my VA classes."

"You have a D in math? Rachel what are you thinking? It is almost the end of the semester and that grade will tank your GPA."

"I know but I am bad at math to begin with and then with all this Shelby crap I just couldn't focus. I mean I was trying up until this past week but I just can't anymore." I said as tears streamed down my face again and Jennifer didn't hesitate in pulling me into a huge hug.

"Well from now on I will help you with your math homework, that was the one thing other than English that I was decent at. But if I am going to help you, you are going to have to put some effort in as well and I want to see your other grades improve as well. Is that clear?" Jennifer asked and I nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now about this whole Shelby thing-"

"Can we please not talk about this right now? It just hurts to think about and I have to see her every day at school, isn't that enough?" I asked and Jennifer sighed.

"I wish you would talk to me about what happened."

"Life happened. She clearly didn't want me and she made that clear by her actions, all I have to do right now is to make it through sectionals and then I am out."

"You're going to quit VA?" Jennifer asked and I shook my head.

"No, I'm not allowed to quit."

"Then what are you going to do?" Jennifer asked as a mischievous smile crept onto my face.

"I'm going to get kicked off the team."

* * *

_So this is the last chapter that I already have pre-written so everything from here on out will be typed and put up as soon I can manage! Enjoy!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Jennifer's POV:**

I was dreading talking to Shelby again but it had to be done. There was no way that Rachel was going to be able to pull up her grades without putting some time and effort into her studies and her constantly having VA practice was not going to help the situation, in fact it was part of the reason she was even in the situation she was in.

Shelby and I had not talked since the huge blowup we had the day before which was not something that happened often. I mean even when we were growing up we never let a fight get between us. I guess that just showed the severity of the situation that had taken place the day before.

Shelby was sitting at her desk grading papers as I walked in. She didn't even look up as I walked into the room, I guess she was used to having people come in early to see her. Although I was a little surprised to see that she was sitting in her classroom and not in her office. Shelby was not one to really leave her office unless she really had to.

"Shelby?" I said as I took a step towards her desk and she sighed as she stopped what she was doing and looked up at me.

"Yes Jennifer?" She asked looking more than slightly agitated at my intrusion.

"We need to talk-"

"If this is about yesterday you need to know that I will not discuss it with you any more." She said and I nodded knowing that I really didn't want to talk to her about it anymore either, especially when she was being her stubborn self.

"It's not about that but it is about Rachel." I said watching to see her aggravation rise just a little.

"What about Rachel?" She asked and I sighed knowing that I just had to tell her like it is, just rip the bandaid off all at onces.

"Rachel will not be at your Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal during lunch for the rest of the week and she will be an hour late to your afternoon rehearsals as well." I said and Shelby smirked a little before she leaned back in her seat.

"Is she in the hospital?" She asked and I shook my head.

"No but-"

"Is she deathly ill? Is she injured to the point of needing medical attention?" She asked and I shook my head. "Then she will be at my rehearsals, it's all in the contract that she signed." Shelby said and I nodded being well aware of the contract that Rachel had signed being as I had reviewed the entire thing with Rachel the previous day trying to work out a loop hole to get her out of the club.

"I know but according to that same contract every member of VA signed, each member must be passing all of their classes, no exceptions." I said and Shelby's face suddenly got serious.

"She is failing a class?" She asked as she got up and headed towards her office.

"Math, she has a D right now and if she doesn't start taking care of it the grade will quickly turn into an F." I said as I followed behind Shelby who sat down on her computer and quickly typed in a few thing before scowling.

"I've been so busy lately I haven't checked grades. I am normally so on top of this, shit. Alright, when is her next test?" Shelby asked and I smiled a little knowing that she actually cared.

"Friday. I am going to be helping her during the times I told you so that I can help her get her grades up before the end of the semester." I said and Shelby nodded.

"Let her know that I will be checking her grades daily and that she is on probation which means there is no tolerance for misbehavior of any sorts." Shelby said and I nodded.

"I'll make sure she is aware." I said as I turned on my heels and walked out of the room.

Rachel was well aware that her grades would put her on probation and while that was not something that she was aiming for when she stopped caring about her grades, she found it an added perk on her way to being kicked off of VA.

Rachel was waiting at my desk and eagerly awaited me to share the news as I walked into my office.

"So?" She asked and I shrugged as I closed my office door and turned to face her.

"Ms. Corcoran wanted me to tell you that she is very disappointed in you and that you are now on probation and misbehavior of any sorts will not be tolerated." I said and Rachel squealed before she ran over and threw her arms around me pulling me into a huge hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She said and I laughed a little as I pulled away and looked at her.

"You're welcome but you will be getting your grades up and that is not up for discussion, is that understood?" I asked and Rachel nodded.

"Of course. On a completely unrelated note how do you feel about suspensions?" She asked and I gave her a look. "I'll take that as you not being too fond of them." She said and I nodded.

"You could say that a suspension is a very good way to find yourself with a very sore bottom. Does that answer your question?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes it does. Well I should go get my things before class starts." Rachel said as she headed towards the door and I nodded.

"Yes you should and remember in here during lunch." I said and she nodded.

"I'll be here." She said before she turned and scampered out of my office.

That kid was really something and I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that my sister saw that and knew what she was missing.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

I had numerous ideas floating around in my head at the moment. I mean now that I was on probation there were thousands of ways to get myself kicked off of VA. I was almost free of my distant mother's clutches and that was exciting.

"Someone looks really happy." Jesse said as he leaned in and kissed me and I nodded.

"For the first time in weeks I really am happy." I said and Jesse smiled.

"I'm glad. So I guess that the conversation with your aunt went well last night?" He asked and I smirked.

"You could say that. I have something to ask you about." I said changing the tone of the conversation and Jesse picked up my hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Whatever it is just know that I love you and we will get through it." He said and I nodded.

"I think I want out of VA." I said and I gave Jesse a moment to pick his jaw up off the floor.

"Rachel no one quits VA-"

"I know, that is why I am going to get kicked off. I have it all planned out, I mean I am already on probation at the moment for my grades so it won't be that hard to accomplish. What do you think?" I asked and He was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"I'm going to miss spending time with you." Jesse joked and I laughed nervously.

"So you are okay with it?" I asked and he nodded.

"As long as that is what you want then I am okay with it." He said and I squeezed his hand and then tugged him in the direction of Jennifer's classroom.

"Have I ever mentioned that you are the best boyfriend ever?" I asked and he laughed.

"Once or twice." He joked before escorting me down the hall.

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

It was days like today that made me thankful that my first class was one of my planning periods. I mean of all the things that I ever thought I would hear, Rachel failing was not one of them. I needed Rachel right now, I couldn't afford for her to fail, I was relying on her to pull us through sectionals I mean they were in a week for christ sake there was no time to get a replacement performance together.

After that little surprise this morning I figured checking everyone else's grades would be a good idea, the last thing that I needed was the principle pulling people out of VA for their poor GPA. It turned out that a good handful of my students were in jeopardy of failing and I was going to make sure they knew it was not acceptable.

I had just finished making the final list of who I had to sit down and talk with when there was a knock at my door and I looked up to see Jesse standing there.

"Come to tell me you are failing as well?" I dryly joked and Jesse shook his head as he stepped into my office and shut the door. "This must be serious." I said as Jesse took a seat and then we both waited for him to get up the courage to tell me what he needed to tell me.

"How much do you know about the Rachel situation?" He asked finally and I gave him a quizzical look.

"I know that she has a D in math, why what do you know?" I asked and he paused for a second.

"Do you even want Rachel around?" He asked and I nodded.

"Of course I want her around Jesse. Why in the world would you even ask that? She is the lead of this team at the moment and without her around her the entire team is screwed at the moment. She is our ticket through sectionals, well you and her." I said and Jesse nodded.

"She is trying to get kicked off the team, that is why I ask." He spat and I felt my heart drop.

Rachel wanted off of VA? No one ever wanted off of VA, everybody wanted on VA not the other way around. Was it something that I did? Was she mad at me for not being ready to be her mom? Could she not stand being around me, had I caused this? I was just so confused about everything right now.

"How?" I asked just spitting out the first thing that my body would allow me to.

"I don't know but I do know that she is on probation so it won't be that hard. You basically laid out a step by step program on how to be kicked out of VA when you made the contract-"

"Only so people knew what to avoid. I never thought that someone would take that as a list of things to do in order to get kicked off. What do I do?" I asked and Jesse shrugged.

"I don't know, but this is your doing so fix it. I won't just stand around and watch my girlfriend walk away from the one thing she loves because you thought it would be great to mess with her life." Jesse barked as I sat stoned faced and just took it.

"Is that all?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes." Jesse said as he got up and walked out of my office.

Yes, it was days like these that made me thankful that my first class was my planning period.

After canceling VA rehearsal during lunch and making sure they spent the time working on their grades I made myself down to Jennifer's office followed by one of the best math tutors in the state of Ohio. It had taken me about ten minutes this morning to formulate a counter attack to Rachel's scheme but she was going to learn that you did not mess with Shelby Corcoran and win.

To say that Jennifer and Rachel were a little surprised to see me was an understatement. It took a good minute before Jennifer and Rachel could pick their jaws up off the floor and finally ask me why I was there.

"Ms. Corcoran, what can I do for you?" Jennifer asked and I motioned for Ms. Holiday to walk into the office.

"Rachel this is Holly Holiday, she will be tutoring you in math until your grades are back up to VA standards and I will be making sure that this happens." I said looking the girl square in the eyes as she squirmed knowing that she had met her match.

"That is really generous Ms. Corcoran but I don't think it is neede-"

"You are a member of VA Rachel, your grades aren't just your concern they are my concern as well and I am going to make sure you get off of probation as soon as possible and don't do anything that would jeopardize your standing on the team." I said with a smile as Rachel turned red knowing that she was busted. "So then Ms. Holiday and you can head to Jennifer's classroom and get started while I have a word with Mrs. Reynolds." I said turning my attention to my sister as Rachel and her tutor walked out of the office.

"How did you find out?" She asked and I gave her a look.

"You know that I have my ways. So when were you going to tell me that since I didn't want to be her mother you were going to just take her away from me? You know just because I can't be the one to raise her doesn't mean I don't want to play some sort of role in her life-"

"It wasn't my idea Shelby so don't start with me. This is what Rachel wanted not me, I was just helping her out because no one else in her life is willing to step up and help." Jennifer snapped and I had to control myself before I completely lost my temper.

"I'll be over seeing her tutoring during lunch from now on with the assistance of Ms. Holiday." I said as I turned and walked out of the office and went to stand in the doorway of my sister's classroom as my daughter worked with the tutor I got her.

I couldn't do much in her life without screwing it up but I was going to make sure that I was there enough to make sure that she didn't screw up her own life as long as I could help it.

* * *

A/n: I hope everyone has a happy holidays I will not be posting really soon due to lack of internet at my grandmothers so I will do what I can! enjoy!


	14. Chapter 14

**Rachel's POV:**

Ms. Corcoran didn't let up on the tutoring the entire week. It seemed like every moment I wasn't spending in rehearsal I was spending with Ms. Holiday, which wasn't too bad being as she was pretty cool and she had a unique way of teaching which was fun. That being said I was just excited when Friday came my test was done and Aced. Of course that meant that I was no longer on probation but that was okay. Jennifer and I had talked and we both agreed that singing was something that I loved and I should continue to do no matter how unbearable Ms. Corcoran made it at times and that if I still didn't want to do it in a few weeks we could revisit the subject.

Even though I was off of probation Ms. Corcoran insisted on having me work with Ms. Holiday three times a week just to make sure that I continued to make progress in math, although that was starting in two weeks being as next Saturday was sectionals and this next week was going to be all VA all the time. Having to cancel most of her rehearsals over the past week Ms. Corcoran had warned us that we were in for some very intense rehearsals leading into next Saturday's competition which no one was looking forward to.

None of that mattered to me though because this weekend I was heading to Lima to spend some long over due time with my friends. Apparently I had missed a lot in the time that I had been away and there was some major catching up to take care of. As soon as VA rehearsal got out I was getting into my car and making the drive to Quinn's house where all the girls would be waiting for me. But first I had to make it through rehearsal.

"Okay so starting out we are going to do a complete run through just to see where we are. I will be taking notes on what we need to work on but remember that every rehearsal is a performance. You don't get to a performance and try to do it better than you have rehearsed it. The way that you are going to perform should be the way that you have rehearsed it which at this point in time should be flawless being as we are a week away people, now places!" Shelby barked once rehearsal started and I shook out my hands as I walked to the stage.

It had been weeks since the last time I had a vocal lesson with Ms. Corcoran and I was nervous that I was a little rusty performance wise. I mean I knew the song like the back of my hand but I had yet to get it up to VA standards and I felt like I was letting the team down every time I tried and failed.

I was on edge as the first notes of my solo played but everything just melted away as I started singing. Things just seemed to flow and everyone in the audience seemed to enjoy the performance that I put on although Shelby sat stone faced jotting down notes through out the performance. Once I was finished there was a quick nod from Shelby before everyone took the stage for Jesse and my duet which was immediately followed by the large group number. By the time that the performance was finished everyone was panting for air although we kept our show faces on as Shelby walked through the entire group before dismissing us to grab water and take a seat in the auditorium.

"I've seen better." Shelby said as she leaned against the stage and everyone in the room seemed to deflate.

Those were not the words that we wanted to hear from Shelby when we finished. Yes we could have done better and a few people were flat in the group number but you could barely hear them on stage so I doubted that it was that noticeable from the audience.

"Rachel, you need to be consistent. I have been telling you this and telling you this and you have yet to listen. You have emotion yes but you are far from consistent with your performance and we are going to be nailed for it. Make it consistent or lose it." Shelby said making me feel personally attacked being as she wanted me to get rid of the one thing I felt made my performance come alive. "Jesse great on the duet, Rachel same thing and the group number was just a mess. Lets take this down to the basics, no words just counts and dance moves, lets go people!" Shelby barked and everyone got up to move.

"Looks like mommy's little princess isn't as perfect as everyone thought." One of the girls commented as I passed to go to my spot and I shot her a look as Jesse pushed me to my place.

"What was that about?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Doesn't matter lets just get through rehearsal." Jesse said as Ms. Corcoran started counting off for us to start the dance.

That was just the first of many comments that were made like that through out the entire rehearsal and when the last one was made I was about to have someone's head.

"Jesse what the hell is going on and don't just tell me to ignore it again." I snapped during our last water break and he sighed.

"Everyone on the team knows that Ms. Corcoran is your mom and people are talking about how you are only getting the solos and stuff because of that. They're just jerks, ignore them." Jesse said and I shook my head as I gathered my stuff.

"I'm done." I said as I started to walk out as Jesse ran after me.

"Rachel-"

"No, I've heard the whispers all week but I ignored it being as I thought it had to do with me being on probation but this, this I can't even begin to fathom how to deal with it. I'm sorry I can't finish rehearsal." I said as I got into my car and backed out of my parking space so happy that I was finally on my way to Lima.

The hour and a half drive to Lima seemed to take forever but I knew it was well worth it as a smile crept onto my face as I saw Quinn's house in the distance. It had been way too long since I had been there and I knew that as soon as sectionals was over I was going to have to change the number of times that I visited.

I parked behind Santana's car and then all but jumped out of my car and ran to the front door. I wasn't too surprised to find that Quinn's parents were out of town for the weekend which was why she had invited us all to spend the night.

"Wow Berry it took you long enough to get back over here and slum it with us Lima folks." Santana joked as she let me into the house and I responded to her sarcasm with a bone crushing hug.

"God I have missed you so much Santana." I said and she smiled as she indulged in the hug for a moment before pushing me away.

"Alright midget go smother Brittany or Quinn with your hobbit love." Santana joked and I nodded as I ran over to Brittany and she welcomed me with open arms.

"So what is new?" I asked as I finished hugging Brit and made my way over to Quinn.

"Well I think Finn and I are history." Quinn said and I gave her a look.

"What? You two were perfect for each other, what happened?" I asked and she sighed.

"I cheated on him, but only after her kissed that troll Moonshine." Quinn said and I nodded understanding how jealous Quinn got at times.

"Who did you cheat on him with?" I asked and Quinn smirked.

"Puck." She said with a giggle as we all took a seat in the living room.

"Do you like Puck miss christian goodie two shoes?" I asked and she nodded as her face burned bright red.

"I think I do. Don't get me wrong, he can be a real jerk at school but there are times when we aren't in school he is a total gentleman, the transformation is amazing." Quinn gushed and I looked over at San and Brit.

"What do you two think?" I asked and San shrugged.

"I told blondie to break up with that neanderthal a while ago so I am glad that she is finally listening to me."

"He broke up with her San-" Brit tried to correct but Santana was not having it.

"Whatever, as long as they are history and I don't have to pretend to like Finn any more I am all for it."

"You're happy?" I asked Quinn and she nodded.

"Thrilled. Oh and guess what skanky now ex-Cheerio is pregnant." Quinn said and I whipped around and looked at Santana.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I joked and she took a pillow from the couch she was sitting on and threw it at me.

"Funny bitch, it's Kitty not me. I know what a condom is and I don't spread my legs for just anyone, I have this thing called standards." Santana said and I rolled my eyes before I turned back to Quinn.

"Whose the daddy?" I asked and she sighed.

"Puck, and before you go off on me he told me all this before we hooked up." Quinn said and I sighed.

"What is she doing with the baby?" I asked and Brittany spoke up.

"She is putting her little girl up for adoption, she doesn't want it and she isn't giving Puck a chance to keep her."

"She is having a girl?" I asked and everyone nodded.

"She found out Monday. On top of that she joined glee club which has thrown Puck for a loop, but it's okay I think we have sectionals pretty well under wraps." Quinn said and I threw my head back onto the couch.

"Please no glee club talk I think I am going to vomit if I hear another thing about glee." I said and Quinn rested her hand on my shoulder for comfort.

"That bad huh? We've heard rumors but-"

"My coach is my mother who doesn't want me. Since she told me that she didn't want me she has gone from paying very little attention to what I do to smothering me with attention, and not the good kind."

"I still can't believe that she is your mom. I mean from what Kurt has told us that coach Corcoran is one badass, and I know bad asses." Santana said and I nodded.

"Tell me about it. I wish I could transfer back to McKinley, it would be less confusing. And don't think about telling me that I could because I can't. I've signed away my life to VA and the only way that I can get kicked off is to get suspended and if I get suspended my aunt is going to beat my butt."

"Really? Mia doesn't take me as the spanking type." Brittany said and I gave her a look.

"Not that aunt, Shelby's sister. That is the one good thing that has come from all of this, my aunt Jennifer is like the nicest person in the world."

"She is so nice that she would spank you if you got kicked off of VA?" Santana asked and I shook my head.

"No she would spank me if I got suspended and that threat is enough to keep me on the straight and narrow, plus my aunt Mia will not allow me to transfer mid-year anyway. Can we just not talk about all of this? I just want to focus on you guys and the stuff that I have been missing at McKinley, except glee club stuff." I said and the three of them nodded as they easily guided the conversation back to skanky Kitty and all the wonderful drama that seemed to be following her and her pregnancy.

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

I was shocked by Rachel storming out of rehearsal. The scene that it created was outrageous and had laughing not of picked up behind me when it happened you could bet that I would have gone and dragged her ass back into rehearsal.

"What is going on?" I snapped as I turned to face a group of girls who were having way too much fun with the scene that had unfolded.

"Nothing." A blonde girl named Charity quickly said as the laughing died and I took a step closer to the group knowing that there was more to the story than they were offering.

"Giselle come over here please." I said and Giselle happily skipped over to where we were from where she had been talking to Chris and Andrea.

"Now ladies I am going to ask again before I ask Giselle what is so amusing and you can bet that she knows and she is willing to tell me. So again I ask what is going on?" I asked and the group nudged Sadie forward to speak for the group.

"We just found it funny that you could be so tough and all but your-your um daughter can't take a few comments." Sadie said as she quickly stepped back seeing my anger reach it's boiling point.

"What kind of comments Giselle?" I asked knowing that she would honestly tell me while I was going to have to stand there and fish it out of these girls all night.

"Let's see, Charity started it all by telling Rachel that mommy's little princess wasn't so perfect, then Farah went and told her that she may look like her mommy but that was where the genetics stopped. Then there was Tiffany who said-" Giselle started and I held up my hand knowing that I could not take hearing all of this right now without losing it on these girls.

"Anyone who said anything to Rachel about her being my daughter or teasing her needs to be ready to run laps after rehearsal is that clear?" I asked loud enough for the entire auditorium to hear and I got a chorus of 'Yes ma'am' back in response and I nodded. "Good, now get on the stage and Giselle lead the group through the counts until I come back and no breaks." I said as I turned and left to see if I could catch either Jesse or Rachel in the parking lot.

"She left." Jesse said from the curb as I walked out of the building.

"Shit!" I said as I rested my hands on my hips. "Do you know where she went?" I asked thinking that if she ran off to Jennifer's I could at least make an appearance to apologize to her later.

"She is heading to Lima to have a girls weekend with her friends. She has been looking forward to this weekend all week so there is no way that she is not going." Jesse said.

"You let her get into a car to drive an hour and a half angry?" I asked and Jesse stood up and gave me a questioning look.

"Really? You are blaming me for this? You know if you hadn't of been such a jackass and of been her mother none of this would have been happening-"

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are to yell at me about this? I understand this coming from my sister, hell if it was Rachel giving me shit about my actions I would take it because it has to do with her, but from you I am not going to take anything from because it has nothing to do with you." I snapped and Jesse rolled his eyes.

"It has more to do with me than it has to do with you. I mean at least I care about Rachel unlike you. Did you even think about her feelings before you just went and told her that she was unwanted? This is a girl who had one of her dads die of cancer only to have her other dad take his life because Rachel wasn't enough for him-"

"I didn't-"

"Didn't what? You didn't know? Of course you didn't know because you didn't bother to find anything out about her. You claim that you care about her and you talk a great talk but your actions don't match your words." Jesse said and I had nothing to say to him.

He was right. I said that I cared about Rachel and I did all of these things to help her but I knew nothing about her past and what made her the Rachel that stood in front of me every day. It was in that moment that I knew I had messed up.

"Give it a few minutes and then tell Giselle that she can dismiss everyone and you can have the offenders run as many laps as you deem necessary." I said as I spun on my heels and walked back into the auditorium, grabbed my things and then left.

I had royally messed up and I needed to go talk to someone and get this all straightened out in my head before I tried to approach this subject with Rachel.

It was the longest drive of my life and the only thing that kept me going was the notion that I was going to be getting help and having a new point of view on this whole situation.

I parked my car in the driveway and then made my way up to the house and rang the door bell. It was starting to get cold outside and as I waited on the front porch I was really wishing that I had brought my jacket with me to school this morning. I was about to ring the doorbell again when my mom finally pulled the door open and I crashed into her arms in tears.

"Shelby what is wrong?" She asked as she pulled me inside and stroked my hair as I continued to sob.

"Everything mom, just everything." I choked out and she let out a sigh.

"Do you want some tea? Let me go put some water on the stove so I can make some tea and then we can talk. Your father is already asleep but I can wake him up if you need him..."

"I'll be fine with just some tea." I said and my mother nodded as we walked into the kitchen and she filled a kettle with some water.

"Talk to me Shelbs, what has you like this?" My mom asked and I knew that I was in for it.

Jennifer had known about Rachel, I had confided in my sister when I couldn't face the reality of what I was doing. My parents and my older brother on the other hand were totally clueless about what I had done, they still were and all of that was about to change, but it had to if I wanted Rachel.

"I have to tell you something mommy but please don't yell at me until I am finished telling you what I have to tell you." I pleaded with my mom and she gave me a small smile.

"I'm not going to yell at you Shelby-"

"Just promise me, please."

"Fine I promise that I won't yell at you, now what do you have to tell me?" She asked as she leaned over the counter and I took a deep breath.

"Sixteen years ago I was looking for money in order to fund my stay in New York after you and dad told me you weren't going to pay for me to do anything but go to college. I was looking through newspapers in order to find a job that would pay well enough for me to move and I came across an ad. It was nine months of work and I would have enough money to stay in New York for at least two years-"

"But what sort of job would pay that sort of money when you were just seventeen?" My mom asked and I sighed.

"I was a surrogate for two gay men in Lima Ohio. I thought that it would be easy, I would just have their baby and then move on with my life as if nothing happened. It wasn't until I heard my little girl's heartbeat that I knew I couldn't go through with it but I had signed a contract already stating that she was theirs."

"Why didn't you tell your father and I? We could have gotten you out of that contract Shelby, you weren't eighteen the contract was void-"

"Mom, please let me finish." I begged and she gave me a look.

"There is more?" She asked and I nodded before I continued on with the story.

"I lied about my age, they thought that I was eighteen when I signed the contract. Anyway I ended up having to give her up but recently I had been looking for her and this year I finally found her but I messed everything up when I met her."

"How?" My mom asked and I sighed.

"I got scared and told her I didn't want her and this is after both of her dads passed away and she is living with her aunt at the moment. I just screw up-"

"SHELBY MARIE CORCORAN YOU DID WHAT?" My mother yelled and I buried my face in my hands.

"I know." I murmured.

"No you do not know. Does Jennifer know about your daughter?" My mom asked and I nodded.

"Yes she does know. In fact Jennifer has this great relationship with my daughter that I am never going to have with her and I don't know what to do. I mean I thought that I could live with it but I can't. I made the wrong choice and now I just feel stuck. I have to see her every single day and all I can be is her teacher and it is killing me. I've tried to insert myself into her life through all of that and it's not working, it's just not what I want. I don't even know what I want. What do I do mom?" I asked and my mom sighed.

"I don't know kiddo, I wish you would have come to me sooner, like before you met with your daughter-"

"Rachel, my daughter's name is Rachel."

"That's a pretty name. Look Shelby I am not sure what you can do. You messed up big time and all that you can do is to ask for forgiveness and try to get back into Rachel's favor or you can go about this a different way."

"There is nothing that will put me in her good graces again, I've walked away from her twice mom. I mean how in the world could she forgive me? I wouldn't forgive me so why in the world would she?"

"Like I said there is another way Shel but it's a little excessive and it would take time."

"Would you at least tell me what it would be?" I asked seeing a glimmer of hope for Rachel and I.

"It would be through legal manners. You entered into a contract with these men before you could legally enter into a contract which means Rachel should have been yours. I get that its been a long time since that contract was in acted but I think that legally we could get Rachel back in your custody, even with you lying about your age. I mean had these men of gone through the proper procedures..."

As my mom kept talking I started thinking that she was on to something. Rachel wanted nothing to do with me but if I got her in my custody she wouldn't have a choice in having something to do with me. I could in a sense make her my daughter. She would still have Jennifer to vent to and she could grow to forgive me and want to be with me. Maybe I could get my daughter back, it was going to take a lot of work but it would be worth it in the end.

* * *

A/n: Vacation's over...back to work!


	15. Chapter 15

**Shelby's POV:**

"Are you stupid? Shelby I get that you are desperate but doing that would make Rachel hate you more than she thinks she does now. You can't force someone to love you Shelby you have to put effort in and work on it."

"I know that Jennifer but she isn't going to give me a chance unless I force her to. I just want my baby back Jennifer and I've screwed up my chance at getting her back-"

"Just talk to her Shelby, use your words, express emotion. Forcing her into your care is just going to rip the two of you apart. What part of this are you not understanding Shelby? Rachel is a reasonable loving kid she will come around if you two start talking and form a relationship."

"But by her living with me we will have a relationship-"

"That is not a relationship-"

"It could be, what do you know?"

"Girls just stop." Our mom said finally ending the battle that was ensuing.

"Mom tell her that she can't do this." Jennifer pleaded and my mom sighed.

"She can Jennifer but that was why I wanted her to talk to you. I think that you have a valid point, forcing Rachel into her care would just cause a greater divide. At the same time Rachel should be in the care of our family, not in the care of her aunt who shouldn't of had the girl to begin with." Our mom said and Jennifer had nothing to say as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

"So what I just have to wait and play by Rachel's rules?" I asked and my mom nodded.

"For the time being. I am going to have your father go ahead and start the paper work that will have to be filed if we want to go about gaining legal custody of Rachel but I want you to make an effort with her while your father is working on all of that."

"I have sectionals coming up, how am I going to spend time with her? I mean any time that I am not teaching or rehearsing VA needs to be spent making sure that everything is in order for the competition next weekend. Not to mention the fact that Rachel wants nothing to do with me so it's not just like I can invite her out to eat or something." I said and my mom looked over at Jennifer.

"Oh no, don't look at me like that mom. Yes I have a relationship with Rachel but why should I risk that to help Shelby?"

"Because Shelby is your sister and this is helping Rachel as well. Talk to Rachel and arrange a dinner between these two, heck if Rachel feels more comfortable you can join them as well. You will do this Jennifer, it is not up for discussion." Our mom said as Jennifer sat there and pouted. "And Shelby if Jennifer is going to put in the effort to do this I am going to need you to put in the same amount of effort if not more." My mom said and I nodded.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't committed to doing this-"

"Then why did you do it last time? You put in all the effort to find her and then what?"

"Enough girls!" Our mom snapped and Jennifer recoiled a little but still sent a glare my way.

"Can I go? Bryan and I were planning on getting lunch from somewhere and then spending our Saturday together being as we haven't really spent too much time together recently because of work." Jennifer said and our mom nodded.

"Tell Bryan I send my love and go enjoy your Saturday but be in touch with Shelby and let her know when Rachel agreed to have dinner." My mom said as she gave Jennifer a hug.

"I will. Bye mom." She said before she gathered her things and left without so much as a word to me.

"So this is what has been eating at your relationship with your sister huh?" My mom asked and I nodded.

"Yeah. When Rachel first found out she went to Jennifer first and since then things just haven't been good between her and I. I mean you have to know that I love Jennifer but she has the relationship with my daughter that I should have. It just seems like things between Jennifer and I have been rough since this whole Rachel thing began especially when I made my mistake."

"Well hopefully when things start to get better between you and Rachel things between you and Jennifer will improve as well."

"I think they will. Look mom I am really glad that you are helping me with this, I couldn't have done it without you." I said and my mom smiled.

"I'm just glad that you trusted me enough to come to me after all of this time. But just remember that as soon as this whole Rachel thing is settled your father and I better be introduced to our grandchild being as the only other grandchildren we have are the two dogs your brother and his girlfriend have." My mom joked and I smiled.

"Of course mom, I wouldn't dream of keeping you away. I should be heading home though so I can get some last minute things together for Vocal Adrenaline."

"There is one more thing Shelby." My mom said and I paused for a second to let her tell me what she needed to.

"Yes?" I prompted after a few seconds of silence.

"You need to know that if you screw up this chance with Rachel it could be a disaster not just for you and your daughter but for you and your sister as well. I love you Shelby but if your heart isn't in this then don't do it-"

"My heart has always been in this mom, it was my head that psyched me out last time mom and I won't allow it to happen again. I have always loved Rachel mom and there was no doubt about that I just didn't know if I could be her mother, that was the only thing in question last time."

"Well Miss I'm not going to listen to my heart, put that head of yours to rest. From what Jennifer has told me that is some kid that you've walked away from and it would kill me to see you lose her again."

"Like I said mom I'm in this I swear. I'll call you later in the week and give you an update but I do have to get going." I said and my mom nodded before she gave me a hug and I gathered my things and left.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

I had just left Quinn's house when I got a phone call from Jennifer. Jennifer usually called me from time to time to check in but she knew that I was in Lima until later tonight so there would be no reason to call unless it was important.

"Hello?" I cautiously answered as I drove down the road back towards my aunt's house.

"Rachel, hey I thought you were in Lima today so I was just going to call to leave a message to see how things were." Jennifer said and I smiled a bit knowing that she really cared about me and wanted to check up on me.

"Well now you don't have to leave a message being as I answered." I joked and I knew that if I could see her she would have cracked a smile.

"What happened to spending all day with your friends?" She asked and I sighed.

"Quinn's parents were coming home early so we all decided to leave so that they could just relax when they got home."

"So you were there unsupervised?" Jennifer asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes we were there unsupervised but Quinn's parents knew we were there and they called and checked up on us a few times if that makes you feel any better."

"It makes me feel a little better. You didn't have a party did you?" She asked and I almost laughed at her acquisition.

"No we didn't have a party, Quinn's parents would have killed us. We were good I promise."

"Alright I will take your word for it this time. So what are you up to today? Are you doing anything special?" Jennifer asked and I knew that there was a deeper meaning to her question.

"I was going to go back to my aunt's house, so no I was not planning on doing anything. Why?"

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to come over for lunch. Bryan was going to make something for us and he wanted to know if you wanted to join in on our little cooking adventure. Of course we aren't going to pressure you into coming over here but as you know your uncle makes one mean grilled cheese sandwich and his homemade soup is to die for-"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Are you driving right now?"

"Yes I am driving right now-"

"RACHEL BARBARA BERRY! Just wait until I get a hold of you young lady, do you know how dangerous talking on the phone and driving is? I cannot believe that you answered your phone-" I cut Jennifer off in the middle of her rant with my laughing which only seemed to agitate her further. "And what is so funny young lady?" She asked when I had calmed down.

"Shelby has hands free devices in all of our cars. One of her rules for VA is that we are not allowed to be on the phone and driving unless we are in our own car and using our hands free devices. Yet another way that she is controlling and manipulative." I said and I could hear my aunt relax a little bit.

"Do you know what I was going to do to you for talking on the phone and driving?" She asked and I cringed a little at the thought of what might have gone through her mind.

"I have an idea." I answered and she let out a small laugh.

"Good, never scare me like that again or that idea might take flight."

"You just sounded like my dads when they got mad at me, it was sort of scary." I joked trying to lighten the mood a little more.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Jennifer asked.

"Good, it is a really good thing."

"Well at least you didn't tell me what Bryan just did."

"What did he tell you?" I asked curious about what my uncle was teasing her with.

"He told me that I sound just like my mother, which trust me is not something that I want to be hearing right now. Speaking of which there is something that I need to talk to you when you get here, it's nothing bad but we do have to talk so there is something for you to look forward to."

"Great. Alright well I am almost there so I am going to hang up now and I will see you in like ten minutes."

"Drive carefully, I would rather wait for you than for you to rush and not arrive at all." Jennifer said and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes mother." I said before I hung up the phone and thought about what I had just said.

I was just joking around but I had not thought about what I was saying. Jennifer's sister was my mom, not Jennifer. Jennifer had made that clear to me when we started this relationship. She wanted to be a major part of my life but she wanted to make sure that I knew she was my aunt not my mother. I was still mentally kicking myself as I pulled into Jennifer's driveway but I put my car into park and headed to the front door.

I didn't bother with knocking being as I knew it was going to be open. It had become a custom that when Jennifer and Bryan knew that I was coming over they would just leave the door open so that I could walk in. As soon as they heard the door open they called out to let me know that they were in the living room and that my food was in microwave.

I grabbed my food and then headed to the couch and sat next to Jennifer and across from Bryan.

"Thank you for the food, I was starving." I said between bites of inhaling my sandwich.

"I'm happy to see that you are enjoying it. I am going to head into the other room so that you two can talk." Bryan said as he took his and Jennifer's plates into the kitchen and then disappeared into some other room.

"It's that serious huh?" I asked and Jennifer sighed.

"It's not too serious but you might get a little upset by the conversation-"

"Look I was just joking about the whole mother thing, I was just playing around and I wasn't thinking. I mean I only said it because I imagine the nagging would have been something a mother would say. I didn't mean that you were my mother or anything like that-"

"Rachel I know. This has nothing to do with that, well sort of. I mean it does has something to do with your mother but it's still not bad. I'm making this sound a lot worse than it is, let me start over. I went over to my mother's this morning to talk to her and Shelby about a few things."

"What kind of things?" I asked and she sighed.

"Shelby realized that she made a mistake-"

"Yeah well too little too late." I retorted and Jennifer gave me a small look.

"She wants to do dinner with you. It would just be a dinner to get to know one another and nothing has to come of it, I can even be there if you would like." Jennifer said and I sighed.

"If I was to do this I would want you to be there. I just don't know if I can give her the chance that she wants. She wanted me and then she didn't and now she wants me again, I am tried of being toyed with-"

"I know baby but she is trying, maybe you could too."

"I am trying Jennifer. I mean she launched me deeper into a depression that I have been dealing with since my dad's death and I am only starting to recover a little bit. I don't know if I could take it if she was to leave me again."

"She won't, I won't let her-"

"I don't want you to force her to stay with me that would be worse than what she did to me. I would never want someone to be forced to be around me, that wouldn't be fair to me or to them. I just don't know Jennifer, I really don't know."

"It's okay to be unsure Rach, but I think that you might be surprised if you gave her a shot. She has a big heart Rachel she just lets her head get in the way sometimes. Look Rachel I won't let her hurt you, I promise you that. If for some reason she seems to be doing the same thing she has already done I will call this whole thing off. I will not let her hurt you Rachel, I will not." Jennifer said and I just nodded.

"We can do dinner, but I make no promises on where this will lead." I said and Jennifer smiled.

"When are you free this week?" She asked and I rolled my eyes.

"I should have known that as soon as I agreed to dinner that it would be scheduled before I could back out." I joked and Jennifer shoved me lightly.

"You are going to enjoy it, trust me."

GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE

Trust her? Was she insane when she told me that? This evening was turning out to be far from enjoyable. To start everything off I had to lie to my aunt Mia and tell her that I was heading to Lima for a few hours which did not go over well. Lately my aunt has been on my butt for not spending enough time with the family. I think she was just mad because she knew that I wasn't doing what I was saying but she didn't want to question what I was doing because she had no reason not to trust me.

That was just the tip of the ice berg that sunk tonight's ship. I was extremely exhausted from VA rehearsal so I was not in the mood for this dinner but I put on a smile and then headed towards Jennifer's house where I was going to shower and change for the evening. When I got there Jennifer and Bryan were in the middle of an argument that I really did not want to hear so I quickly dismissed myself into the bathroom so that I could at least feel nice before the dinner got under way. Unfortunately had I of stayed to listen to their fight I would have known that there was no hot water in the house which meant that I ended up taking a freezing cold shower.

When my ice bath was finished I dried off and changed into my clothes so I could head down to the living room and wait for Shelby to show up. As soon as Jennifer saw me a small smile escaped from her lips before she just flat out laughed at me.

"Don't even. A little warning would have been nice before I got into the freezing cold shower and suffered through cleaning myself." I snapped and she gave me a sad smile.

"I'm sorry kiddo, I was a little busy yelling at Bryan because he couldn't get this taken care of today." Jennifer said and I nodded.

"I heard the yelling which was why I jumped in the shower, had I of known why you two were arguing I would have waited." I said and Jennifer sighed.

"Well it's over with now. Why don't we head into the living room to wait for Shelby being as I have been kicked out of the kitchen by Bryan who is tired of hearing about the hot water issue."

"Oh I have a few choice words for Uncle Bryan." I said loud enough for him to hear me and I got a few mumbles in return before Jennifer let out a chuckle and we made our way into the living room.

"Are you nervous?" She asked after a minute and I just shook my head.

"Not really. I mean I know Shelby so there is not really going to be anything to surprise me."

"I'm telling you that things are going to be different."

"Let's just wait and see, there is no need to make promises that you can't keep."

"Rachel-" Just as Jennifer was about to console me there was a knock on the door and Jennifer sighed as she got up off the couch. "We'll talk later." She said as she made her way to the door.

It was a few minutes later that Shelby and Jennifer came into the room talking about some random nonsense. Jennifer took back up her seat next to me while Shelby awkwardly stood for a minute before she took a seat in the one chair in the entire room.

"So, are you guys excited about the competition on Saturday?" Jennifer asked trying to break the silence.

"As long as things seem to continue to improve before then I will start to get excited, the performance is just a little flat right now." Shelby said and I just rolled my eyes much to Jennifer's chagrin.

"Rachel." Jennifer lightly scolded and I plastered on a fake smile.

"I'm excited about Saturday. I mean after the competition at least I won't have to go through the abuse of my coach for at least two whole days." I sarcastically chided and Jennifer looked mortified.

"Hey dinner is ready!" Bryan called in to us as silence filled the room following my comment.

"Hey Shelby you go ahead Rachel and I have to go wash our hands real quick." Jennifer said as she stood up and Shelby nodded before she walked into the kitchen.

As soon as Shelby was gone Jennifer yanked me out of my seat and led me down the hall to the downstairs bathroom where I had showered earlier.

"What is that all about?" Jennifer snapped as she let me go and I just shrugged.

"I was just being honest." I said and Jennifer shook her head.

"No you are being sarcastic and mean." She corrected and I sighed.

"Did you not hear her comment? That was totally a dig at me, I couldn't let her get away with that."

"Rachel that was not a dig at you, that was Shelby being the OCD coach that she is. She makes comments like that before every big competition that VA does. Actually the comment that she made was one of the best comments she has made in a while."

"What do you want me to do? I am having a really hard time sitting there and pretending to like her-"

"Then leave. If this dinner is going to be nothing other than you being bitter and resentful towards Shelby then leave. I will understand and so will Shelby and Bryan. Clearly you are not ready for this step in your life and if that is so then just leave."

"You would be mad if I left-"

"No I wouldn't Rachel. I'm just sorry that I thought you were mature enough and ready to give Shelby another chance but I guess I judged you wrong and that was my mistake." Jennifer said and I could feel the tears starting to build up in my eyes.

"Fine, I won't bother you again." I said as I turned and ran out of the house as fast as I could.

* * *

**A/n: It is going to be a couple of days until I post again but enjoy this for now!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Shelby's POV:**

All I heard was the front door slam and Jennifer call out after Rachel before Jennifer showed up in the kitchen close to tears after a few long moments had passed.

"What is going on?" I asked and Jennifer shook her head.

"Bryan you need to grab your keys, I totally messed up." Jennifer said shaking and I got up from where I was sitting.

"What happened?" I asked and she just shook her head again.

"We need to go-"

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED DAMMIT!" I yelled causing Jennifer to jump.

"Shelby-"

"She is my daughter Jennifer what happened?" I asked somewhat calmer and she sighed.

"I just wanted her to be respectful but I went about it the wrong way. I've never had a kid before so I just told her to leave, that is what I do with house guest who are rude, but Rachel isn't some house guest." Jennifer said as she broke down and I quickly made my way over to where she was and wrapped my arms around her letting her cry on my shoulder.

"Bryan go ahead and start looking for Rachel, I will take Jennifer out in a second to join you in the search. I have my phone on, call me if you find anything." I said and Bryan nodded as he walked out the front door.

"She hates me, you hate me, mom hates me, I have to be the biggest screw up in the world." Jennifer sobbed as I rubbed circles on her back.

"First of all I don't hate you. I have never hated you, I've been jealous of you but that is different."

"Why would you be jealous of me? I mean you have this great reputation at school and in Ohio and the nation if not the world, Shel people want to be you. Kids kill themselves just to be taught by you-"

"Kids hate me, my own daughter despises me because of the nature of the program that I run. That program is what kept me from Rachel when she was younger, had I of not been so wrapped up in glee club I could have found her sooner. You have a great life Jennifer, you have a loving husband, your niece loves you, and mom loves you to death as well. Who cares if you aren't known nationally, your family adores you and that is all that matters. Now in regards to Rachel being rude, you have to have faith that I can handle myself. I understand that she is upset and mad so I am okay with her having those feelings, I wasn't too upset by her comments, I understand that I am not going to be welcomed by her with open arms until I earn it."

"I just want everything to be the way it should be-"

"And it will be, you just have to give it time and have faith. Now I think that there is another hurt girl out there who needs her aunt and I am going to give that to her, come on." I said as I gave Jennifer a little pat on her back before she pulled away and wiped her eyes and grabbed her jacket.

Jennifer and I hopped into my car and then we slowly started to cruise around the neighborhood looking for Rachel.

"You are serious about getting to know Rachel aren't you?" Jennifer asked and I nodded.

"I am Jennifer, I wouldn't put her through the ringer again for my own selfish reasons if I wasn't."

"Good. Is that her?" Jennifer asked as she pointed to a young girl running and I shook my head.

"Nope, that is just a jogger." I said as I passed the girl and continued to look for Rachel.

"Do think that she went back to her aunts house?" Jennifer asked and I shrugged.

"You know her better than I do, what do you think?" I asked just as my phone rang and I quickly answered through my hands free device.

"Bryan?" Jennifer asked before I could.

"I found her but she is refusing to come back to the house and she is giving me a hard time about it." Bryan said and I looked over at Jennifer who looked racked with guilt.

"Where are you guys?" I asked hoping that they weren't far so we could meet up with them.

"We are on the corner of Maple and Fifth and moving. Rachel seems determined to walk somewhere." Bryan said and I quickly made a u-turn.

"We will be there in three minutes, just keep following her and try to get her into the car." I said as I sped up in order to get there faster.

"Will do." Bryan said before he hung up and we were left in silence for the remainder of the drive.

Jennifer was the first one to spot Rachel as we approached. Bryan was slowly following her in his truck as she continued to walk down the street looking throughly pissed off. I pulled my car into a parking lot that Rachel was going to have to pass and I turned the car off and hopped out.

"What are you doing?" Jennifer asked as she followed me and I shrugged as I started to walk towards Rachel.

"Oh good grief!" Rachel moaned as we approached but even her put off attitude didn't deter me.

"You have two choices Rachel, either get into Bryan's truck or get in my car but you are not walking anywhere." I said and she shook her head.

"No. Jennifer and Bryan clearly chose you over me so go rejoice, you are the chosen one. You win Shelby!" Rachel barked as she tried to side step me but I blocked her way.

"Choose." I said calmly and she just rolled her eyes and tried to side step me again.

"Move." She said getting annoyed with me blocking her and I shook my head.

"You have to the count of three to make a choice-"

"Or what? What are you going to do to me? You aren't my mother and you have no say in what I do. You can't make me do anything." Rachel snapped and I smiled and started to count.

"One."

"Seriously?" Rachel questioned trying to walk off again but I cut her off again.

"Two." I said and Rachel shook her head and looked back at Bryan making me think that she was going to make a choice but I was wrong.

"Make me." She bit and I nodded as I took a small step and in one move I lifted her over my shoulder and started to walk back to my car with her hanging over my shoulder kicking, screaming, and cursing at me.

"Put me down this instant!" Rachel barked and I shook my head.

"Make me." I mocked and she just glared up at me and crossed her arms. "Jennifer can you get the door?" I asked and Jennifer nodded as she took my keys and opened up the back door for me so I could place Rachel back there.

As soon as I got Rachel in I turned the child lock on the door and then made my way to the other side of the car so I could do the same to that door and get into the car myself.

"Thank you." Jennifer said after the back doors were shut and I shrugged.

"You would have done it for me." I said and Jennifer smiled as we got into the car and I was handed the keys.

"You know this is considered kidnapping right?" Rachel asked as she pouted and I rolled my eyes.

"Sit back and put your seatbelt on or I will do it for you and I think you know I will." I said and Rachel did as she was told being as she now knew that I wasn't playing around.

The ride back to the house was spent in dead silence. From the way that Jennifer was bouncing her leg I could tell that she was nervous about how she was going to talk to Rachel once we got back to the house. Rachel on the other hand looked completely pissed off as she sat in the backseat. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest while her jaw was clenched shut as she stared out the window. I on the other hand had come up with a brilliant plan on how to get these two to work out their differences and I was about to put that plan into action whether Jennifer or Rachel were ready for this.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

I was ready to get out of the car as Shelby pulled into the driveway. I had to wait for someone to open the door for me so colored me surprised when Shelby put the car into park and turned to Jennifer and I.

"I'm starving so I am going to go inside and eat while you two sit in this car and not leave until you are friends again." Shelby said as she slipped out of the car and Jennifer and I were left in complete silence.

A few terrible moments passed before Jennifer and I both broke down and started to talk over one another.

"Rachel about earlier-"

"I'm sorry I made you choose between me and your sister."

"I wasn't choosing Rachel, I love you both."

"But-"

"I handled the situation completely wrong Rachel. You have to forgive me. I've never dealt with kids before, students yes but not kids I deeply care about. I was the youngest in my family so I was babied and all my cousins were older but no one other than Shelby really has any kids and the one kid that I finally get to be with I screw everything up with." Jennifer said and I let out a sigh.

"I might have over reacted just a little bit, storming out was probably not the way to get my point across-"

"No it wasn't but it really made what I said to you hit home. I didn't want you to leave and I never should have told you to. You are always welcome in my house and knowing how uncomfortable you were with the dinner I shouldn't have pushed you. I should have asked Shelby to come back on a day where you were more comfortable."

"I should have just put a smile on my face and tried being nice."

"We both could have done a lot of things better but lets just promise each other that next time something like this happens we are going to keep our heads and talk things out like adults." Jennifer said and I laughed a little.

"Keep our heads? I don't know much about this family but from what I can tell there is no keeping our heads." I said and Jennifer let out a loud laugh before she leaned over the center console that was separating us and pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"I love you little bit." Jennifer said and I rolled my eyes.

"Is that a crack of my height?" I asked and she nodded.

"Oh yes it is and don't you forget that I'm taller than you." She said and I shook my head.

"Regardless can you let me out of the car? Your sister decided that I am a mere five year old and I would run out of the car unless she made it so I couldn't get out." I complained and Jennifer smirked.

"I don't know I sort of like the fact that you are stuck in the back seat. My sister is an evil genius if nothing else."

"Aunt Jen this is not funny, let me out!" I whined and Jennifer gave me a weird look. "What?" I asked and she pulled me into another hug.

"You called me your aunt. That is the first time you have ever done that. I mean I get that you weren't ready to do that before this moment but you just called me your aunt!" She happily chided into my ear and I nodded.

"I did call you my aunt, because that is what you are. Can we go eat now?" I asked and she shoved me lightly.

"Yes we can go eat. Are you going to be okay with Shelby being there? I can always ask her to leave if her being here is too much for you." Jennifer said and I just shook my head.

"It's fine, although if she picks me up again like she did earlier I make no promises to be nice." I said and Jennifer rolled her eyes as she got out of the car and then walked over to get me out.

When we got to the kitchen it seemed like both Bryan and Shelby were holding their breath, it was almost as if they didn't think that Jennifer and I would make up.

"What's with the looks?" Jennifer asked as she went about getting herself a plate to eat.

"Did you guys, you know, make up?" Bryan asked and Jennifer let out a soft chuckle.

"Of course we made up, my niece is a giant sweet heart!" Jennifer said as she pulled me into a hug and then placed a dozen kisses on my head.

"And my aunt admitted that she was wrong!" I teased and Jennifer released me and then landed one swat to my rear before she pushed me towards the food so I could make myself a plate to eat but I was too shocked by her action to do anything.

"You just-"

"And I'll do it again so you better watch yourself." Jennifer said as Shelby and Bryan both laughed.

"The things that I put up with for my family." I groaned.

"You know we love you. Now grab your food and come over here and sit." Jennifer stated and I nodded as I grabbed my plate that was now covered in food and I took a seat next to Jennifer and across from Shelby.

We all ate in silence and when our meal was finished I was wondering what was coming next. There had been no talking since the last fork was set down and all this quiet was becoming unnerving.

"Rachel can I talk to you for a minute?" Shelby finally asked breaking the silence and I looked over at Jennifer who just motioned for me to go ahead.

"It can't take too long I have to get home soon." I said and Shelby nodded as she got up and I followed her out onto the back porch at Jennifer's house.

"I was surprised that you agreed to talk to me." Shelby said and I nodded as I crossed my arms trying to keep myself warm in the chilly Ohio night air.

"I was surprised too." I said and Shelby nodded.

"I know that my words probably mean nothing to you but I am deeply sorry for what I've put you through. I was selfish Rachel and I let my head get in the way of what my heart was feeling. I didn't know if I could be the mother that you needed, hell I'm still not sure, but I want to try." Shelby said and I just shook my head.

"I can't forgive you. You have no idea what your actions put me through. What I don't get is why you were looking for me if you never wanted me, I will probably never understand why you did that."

"But you agreed to this dinner?" Shelby questioned and I nodded.

"I did agree to this dinner but that was never for your benefit, that was all for Jennifer. She just wants us to have something but I'm going to tell you what I will never tell her. You hurt me more than I can even begin to describe and there is no way in hell that I will forgive you in the foreseeable future. I will be as nice as I can be and I will try to be pleasant when you are around but I promise you nothing more than that. You may have given birth to me but you're not my mother and you will never be that. I hate you for what you did to me, I really hate you and I just-I-I have to go." I said as I left the back porch and said my goodbyes to my aunt and uncle before I gathered my things and left with tears streaming down my face.

Shelby had no idea how hurt I was and how hard it was to walk away from her. All I wanted for her to do was to try to get me to stay, try to tell me how sorry she was. I wanted her to do everything in her power to show me that she loved me but instead she let me walk away just like I let her walk away from me.

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

I was hurt. Everything that Rachel had said just sent me over the edge. I mean who in the world was she to tell me that I was not her mother? I've loved that since before she was born and now she was going to dictate whether I could be her mother or not, it hurt.

"Are you okay?" Jennifer asked as she slipped out onto the porch and I shook my head.

"I am far from okay." I said wiping a single tear away and Jennifer pouted her lips before she walked over to me and wrapped me in a hug.

"What happened?" she asked as she rested her head on my shoulders.

"She told me that I wasn't her mother and she could never forgive me. You mess up with her and you get a second chance but I don't. Was I a horrible person growing up, did I do something horrible in another life to deserve this treatment? What I am going to do Jen, all I want is my baby girl and she wants nothing to do with me. What do I do?" I asked now in full blown tears and Jennifer turned me so I was crying into her chest as she stroked my hair.

"You were the best big sister I could have asked for growing up Shel and I doubt you were a horrible person in another life. You screwed up yes but Rachel will come around, she is just hurt-"

"So am I Jen, and she won't come around. She hates me, she told me she hates me. The daughter that I gave birth to hates me." I said and Jennifer sighed.

"I think it's time to call mom and get those papers rushed through."

"But she already hates me, why give her another reason?" I sobbed and Jennifer rubbed small circles on my back.

"She isn't going to hate you, she is going to hate me."

"Jen-"

"She is my very stubborn, hardheaded niece, and she is going to be living with her just as stubborn and hardheaded mother."

"I can't-"

"No you can and you will. The only way that she is going to come around is if we make her. Tonight you made her come around to talking to me by forcing her into that car and not letting her go until her and I made up and now I am going to repay the favor. She is going to be mad about it but we both know that is the only way she is going to work this out with you. At first I thought that there might be another way to go about doing this but she is still a child Shelby and sometimes children need to be guided because they don't know what they want. Now lets go call mom." Jennifer said as she took my by the shoulders and guided me into the house and over to my phone.

Jennifer dialed the number for me and then handed me the phone.

"Shelby?" My mom answered and I took a deep breath.

"Mom you know those papers we talked about dad filing?" I asked knowing that once I did this I couldn't go back.

"Yes, what about them?" She questioned and I looked over at Jennifer who nodded in encouragement.

"Can you guys put a rush on them? I want to go through with this and have her in my house before the holidays." I said and Jennifer lit up with a huge smile.

"You're sure?" My mom asked and I bit my lip for a second and then nodded.

"Yes, I have never been more sure of anything in my life. I want Rachel and I am willing to do anything to get her back."

"I'll get your father on it tonight, hopefully we can get the papers in front of a judge by the end of next week and Rachel's current guardians will be notified probably with in the next couple days." My mom said and I nodded hoping they wouldn't be notified until after regionals being as this could totally mess with Rachel's head.

"Rachel finds out the same time as her aunt and uncle correct?" I asked as Jennifer placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Unless you tell her earlier."

"When do you think they will be notified?" I asked and my mom sighed.

"Monday at the soonest."

"And does Rachel have a say in who she lives with? Cause if she does then there is no need for us to try-"

"Legally she does have a say but given the circumstances the judge will probably rule in our favor. Shelby you have nothing to worry about, your father is one of the best attorneys in Ohio we will win you this case and your daughter." My mom firmly said and I nodded.

"I love you mom." I said as Jennifer pulled me into a side hug.

"I love you too Shelly, and tell Jenny that I send my love to her as well. I'm going to go talk to your father about the papers. And Shelby, you are going to be a great mother, even if you have to drag your kid kicking and screaming back into your custody." My mom said and I smiled.

"That means a lot coming from you."

"I'll take that as a compliment, well I must be going. Good night Shelby."

"Night mom."

"So it's done?" Jennifer asked as I hung up the phone.

"Yes, it's done."


	17. Chapter 17

**Rachel's POV:**

I was a ball of nerves on the day of sectionals. Shelby had rehearsed us to the point I thought we were going to die up until last night when she gave us the night off and now as I am standing back stage I'm not so sure that it was a good idea.

"Just take a deep breath, you'll do great." Jesse said as he pulled me into a side hug and I just glared at him.

"Easy for you to say you don't have a solo that you have to wow the audiences with that has failed to wow your own coach to date." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"She is always hard on the soloist because she doesn't want them to care about what anyone thinks of their performance. She wants them to get to the point where they are happy with just pleasing themselves because sometimes that is all we can do. She is a very twisted, but wise mentor." Jesse said and I sighed.

"I wish she was a little more straight forward. I have to go, we are on soon and I need to get to my spot and shake these nerves out." I said and Jesse took my hand and pulled me into a deep kiss.

"Better?" He asked and I was going to say something before I realized that my nerves had actually dissipated a tad bit.

"You didn't learn that from Shelby did you?" I teased and he shook his head.

"God no. That was just a shot in the dark, but I'm glad it worked." He said with a smile and I pecked him on the lips again.

"I'm glad it worked too, but I do need to get going." I said as I sadly departed from my love and started to make my way through the maze of halls that made up backstage.

We still had to get through a few more performances before we were going to be on stage but somehow it made me feel better to be where I needed to be extra early.

From behind the curtain that separated me from the audience I could see where Jennifer and Bryan were sitting. They had been adamant on coming to the performance although I assured them I didn't care if they were here or not. To be honest I was really glad that they did show up. After I found them I kept scanning the audience to see if I could find my Aunt Mia. I had told her about the competition weeks ago and she promised me that she was going to be here, the thing was she wasn't here.

I was a pro at scouting people in audiences, I mean I have been doing it for as long as I can remember so there was no fooling me. My aunt Mia was not here, Blaine was but she was no where to be seen. In fact Blaine wasn't even saving her a seat which meant that she wasn't coming and as much as it pained me to admit it hurt a little bit. She was suppose to be taking over the role of my family and yet she couldn't carve out two hours of time to support me?

I tried to remain focused on the performance that was at hand but it was proving to be difficult. I was over whelmed from all of my nerves and having my Aunt break her promise was almost too much for me to handle.

"Just shake it out, it doesn't matter, she doesn't matter." I said trying to shake out my nerves but it was so not working, where was Jesse when I truly needed him?

"You look tense!" I heard Santana say and I quickly whipped around to see Santana, Quinn, and Brittany standing behind me.

"OH MY GOD!" I squealed before I ran over and wrapped them all in a tight hug.

"Easy midget!" Santana said as she loosened my grip on her and I apologized and let everyone go.

"Sorry, what are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be in Lima?" I asked and they all smiled.

"You have been talking about this competition for how long? There is no way that we were going to let our best friend perform without us being there."

"Yeah that would be totally uncool!" Brittany said and I just smiled and hugged them all again.

"Thank you so much for coming you have no idea what this means to me!"

"Yeah well just remember this is just like cheerleading, except you're singing instead of being thrown up in the air for the enjoyment of the crowd." Quinn said and I smirked.

"True."

"You got this Berry, there is no doubt about it!" Santana said and I nodded already feeling much better about my upcoming performance.

"Thanks, you guys should probably go take your seats, we are almost up to perform." I said and the three of them nodded as they waited for the song that was being sung to end before they entered during the applause.

It felt like mere moments later that Vocal Adrenaline was being announced and I was listening to the opening chords of Don't Rain On My Parade. I could feel the adrenaline pump through my veins and I swore that I was about to throw up at any moment. It felt like forever since I had last performed and I wasn't sure I was able to do this but I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the curtains anyway.

Once I got into a groove I was glad that Shelby had rehearsed the numbers so many times. As soon as I got into it all the nerves seemed to fade away and performing just became second nature. I was starting to see that as a coach Shelby knew what she was doing, but that was about as far as my respect for her went.

When my solo ended there was a wild applause which left jest enough time for VA to join me on stage before the music for our next song started. The rest of the performance was nothing. The group number and the duet were nothing to worry about and even Shelby seemed pleased when we all walked off stage.

The next part that came was more completely nerve wracking than having to wait for our performance to start. As we waited for the judges to come back with the result of the competition everyone kept saying that we had this competition in the bag but there was still a hint of doubt that floated in the back of my mind. I mean if we lost this whole thing was going to be blamed on me. I was the soloist as long as one of the leads in the group numbers and the duet. I was starting to feel a lot of pressure the longer we waited for the results to come back.

"You have nothing to worry about." Shelby said as she stirred her cup of coffee as she stood leaning against the wall close to where I as sitting. "The performance you delivered was near flawless and to the untrained eye it was perfection." Shelby said and I didn't know what to do.

"Um...thank you?" I asked as if it was a question and she just let out a little chuckle.

"You don't believe me, I get it, but your performance was very good." Shelby said before she pushed herself off the wall and walked to the other end of the room where a large group of kids were talking.

It was a few minutes later that we returned to the stage along with the other groups that had competed. With all three groups on the stage we were squished against each other and it was hard to keep a show face on as some kid let his giant feet crush my tiny ones in his clumsiness but that was the least of my concerns when the announcer started his long and drawn out speech.

You know I get that we had to thank the school that was hosting the competition, and maybe it was necessary to thank the judges who took an afternoon to watch the competition, but it was not necessary to thank every last person who had placed an ad to sponsor the program that was handed out. I swear that this was just another way that they were trying to torture us by having us wait to hear who had won the competition.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity the announcer finally got around to his job. In third place was some poor pathetic christian school that never should have been placed in a competition circuit to begin with. With them out of the way that left Aural Intensity and Vocal Adrenaline.

There was a part of me that was thankful for the announcer taking the time to thank the law group that he had forgotten the first time around. When he was finished I took a deep breath and wrung my hands out behind my back before Jesse's hand found mine and he squeezed it tightly as the announcer opened the envelope which contained the name of the first place group.

It was an intense few seconds before the announcer called out Vocal Adrenaline's name as the winner and Jesse swept me into a bone crushing hug before placing many tender kisses on my lips until our grasp was broken by a trophy being thrust into our hands.

"I loved your performance." Jesse whispered into my ear as we graciously accepted our applause.

"Thank you." I mouthed before my entire face was engulfed in a huge smile that I could not hide.

I hadn't thought about it in a while but I had really missed performing. Shelby and Jesse were right, I was born to perform and this was something that I wanted to do for a living, I just need to be on stage. I'm like Tinkerbell, I need applause to live.

"You were amazing Rach!" Jennifer said as she pulled me into a hug as soon as I was off stage.

"Thank you, I mean I was a little flat on the thir-"

"Stop right there. You are not going to be your mother's child. I said you were fantastic and you were so we are going to leave it at that." She said as she tightened her grip on me for a second before pulling away after placing a kiss on my head.

"RACHEL!" I heard Quinn, Santana, and Brittany yelled as they came running over to where I was and I let out a small chuckle as they pushed the crowd out of the way to get to me.

"Aunt Jennifer these are my best friends Quinn, Santana, and Brittany." I said introducing the girls who waved in return.

"So you three have been taking good care of my niece for me?" Jennifer asked and Santana wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"Yeah we've been taking good care of munchkin over here."

"Then I guess I have to take you all out to lunch to thank you, and of course to celebrate Rachel's win at sectionals!" My aunt said and I just smiled until I saw Blaine standing off to the side by himself.

"I'll be right back." I said to my aunt and friends as I quickly made my way over to Blaine and pulled him into a giant hug.

"There you are!" Blaine exclaimed and I smiled as I pulled away.

"Yes here I am. So what did you think?" I asked and he just grinned.

"It was stunning, you were stunning, I'm just happy to have my Rachel back." Blaine said and I rolled my eyes.

"Where is your mom?" I asked and he sighed probably picking up on the fact I was really disappointed what she wasn't here.

"She told me to lie and tell you that she was here and just had to leave early but we both know that she wasn't here. Look I'm sorry Rach, she was going to come and then something came up with-"

"Cooper, I know the drill. Hey come with me, I want to introduce you to someone!" I said as I took Blaine's hand and dragged him towards Jennifer and my friends.

"Where are we going?" Blaine asked and I just smiled as we came to a stop and I pulled him closer to me.

"Aunt Jennifer this is my cousin Blaine, Blaine this is my aunt." I said giving a few seconds for what just happened to sink in.

"Wait aunt as in-"

"My sister is Rachel's biological mother. It's nice to meet you though Blaine, I have heard nothing but wonderful things about you." Jennifer said as she extended her hand to Blaine who took it and glared at me.

"When did you find your mother?" He asked and I sighed.

"It's a long story-"

"Blaine would you like to join Rachel, her friends and I for lunch?" My aunt asked and Blaine shook his head after a second.

"I have to be getting home, I have a lot of homework to do and the glee club at my school has rehearsal tonight. I'll see you at home Rachel, and really good job today."

"Thank you, and Blaine-" I said and he gave me his full attention.

"Yes?" He asked and I gave him a look.

"Mum is the word on this whole finding my mother thing, got it?" I questioned and he nodded.

"Of course. Bye Rae." Blaine said as he slipped back into the crowd and I turned to the small group that had come out to support me.

"So where would you like to go to eat?" Jennifer asked and I shrugged not really sure what kind of food I was in the mood for at the moment.

"How about pizza?" I heard Jesse ask as he wrapped an arm around my waist and I turned my attention to him.

"Why pizza?" I asked and he smirked.

"That was what the entire team was going to go eat in celebration of our win, it's a team tradition."

"Well if it's a tradition." I joked as I turned back to my friends and aunt. "Would you guys be okay with getting pizza with VA? Honestly I don't care what we do so I am going to leave it up to you guys."

"Then lets go get pizza, if it's a team thing you can't be the only one to not go."

"Yeah, we made fun of the girls who didn't go to our cheerleading victory parties and they were WAY cooler than pizza." Brittany said and I smirked.

"Yeah they were. But are you guys sure that you are cool with that?" I asked and everyone rolled their eyes before they nodded that they were cool with us hanging out with VA.

"Alright so pizza it is. Rachel go grab your stuff and I am going to grab your uncle so we can head out." My aunt said and I nodded as I gave everyone a quick hug before I ran to go grab my bag.

I wasn't sure why it didn't hit me until we were at the pizza place that being as this was a VA celebration, Shelby was going to be there. Not to mention the fact that this was a celebration for VA and I had invited members of a rival team to join us. Yeah I was going to have to get my head examined as soon as I wasn't so busy.

"You seem nervous." Santana said as we walked towards the front doors of the restaurant and I nodded.

"That would be because I am." I said and Santana wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"If you're worried about Q, B, and I spilling the beans about being from McKinley, don't worry we already agreed to keep that on the down-low." Santana said and I shook my head.

"It's not that, well that is part of it but-"

"But what? There is nothing to worry about Rach, just relax and lets go get some pizza with your VA cronies."

"Cronies?" I questioned but there was no time for a response being as soon as I walked in I was swarmed with hugs from my team mates and was swept over to the table where I was guided into a chair that was next to Jesse.

"I can move over a few seats if you want to sit by the people who you brought with you." Jesse whispered into my ear but I told him not to bother as the group I was with was being quickly welcomed by the guys of the team.

"Where is Coach Corcoran?" I asked as I looked around and saw that she was no where to be seen.

"She was just here, I think she might have gone to see her sister, that would explain their disappearance." Jesse said and I quickly scanned the room to find that both my aunt and uncle were missing as well, which was something that I had missed in my initial scan of the room.

"Oh."

"Hey we can go somewhere else. I totally goofed when I asked you here, I should have thought about the whole Ms. Corcoran thing-"

"It's fine Jesse. Santana, Brittany, and Quinn seem to be having a great time and my aunt is just happy that she gets to see her sister, everyone is happy-"

"But what about you? Are you happy?" Jesse asked and I shrugged.

"I'm not, not happy. Plus being here means that I get to be with you and that in turn makes me happy." I said and Jesse just wore a smug smile as I leaned in and pecked him on the lips.

"Rae you have the best looking teammates." Santana said as she took a seat next to me at the table and I rolled my eyes as I watched at least fifteen of my male teammates fight over who got to sit next to her.

"Yes and they are all so accommodating." I joked as the other boys tripped over themselves to pull out Quinn and Brittany's chairs.

"Why yes, yes they are." Santana said as she turned her attention from me over to the group of boys all but drooling on the table.

"Well that's weird." Jesse said and I snapped my head towards him to give him a questioning look.

"What is weird?" I asked and he laughed a little.

"Well if you ask me I would have said that Santana had a thing for Brittany and well, girls." Jesse said and I shook my head.

"No way, she has slept with just about the entire male population at the school, same with Brits."

"That doesn't mean that they can't play for the other team too. Anyway to answer your previous question there is coach C." Jesse said as he pointed to the doorway where Aunt Jennifer stood talking to Ms. Corcoran. "What's on your mind?" Jesse asked and I just sighed as I looked away from the duo who had suddenly turned to look at me the moment they felt me watching them.

"My cousin was at the performance today and I introduced him to my aunt which made him question the whole Shelby thing, I just have this bad feeling about everything, I've had a bad feeling all morning, it's hard to explain. At first I thought it was because of the competition this morning but we won so I don't know what to think. Maybe I'm just being dramatic."

"Maybe that bad feeling means something, just don't dismiss it."

"I think you're right Jesse." I aid earning myself a smug smile.

"I usually am."

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

"So her aunt should have been served the paperwork on Friday, but I don't think Rachel has any idea what is going on."

"Clearly. If she had an inkling of what was going on she would not have been at the performance this morning or here right now. I was actually surprised when she accepted the invitation to come here." Jennifer said and I nodded.

"Me too. I was actually more surprised that her aunt didn't come to the competition to pull her out of Vocal Adrenaline at the last moment so my team would be royally screwed."

"As if, you have a plethora of routines that you could use at a moments notice." Jennifer chided and I sighed as I turned and looked over to where Rachel was joking around with Jesse and her friends.

"Yeah but no one matches Rachel's ability-"

"Biased much? I love Rachel but I think Jesse could take her." Jennifer teased and I shook my head with a smile as I looked back at my sister.

"I don't know, Jesse has gotten lazy lately, I think Rachel has a shot."

"Probably, so what are you going to do when she hates you?" Jennifer asked and I rolled my eyes.

"More so than she already does? I'm looking for a place for the two of us that is close to your house. I know that it will be a big adjustment for her but I'm ready to step up here and I know that given time she will let me in."

"And what happens is you aren't awarded custody?" Jennifer asked and I shook my head knowing that tears were threatening to fall.

"I can't even think about that option. Maybe I could work out some sort of agreement with her aunt and try to be in Rachel's life."

"I doubt that would work, her aunt hates you with a burning passion."

"Trust me I know, she was the one who had the Berry's make up that stupid ass contract in the first place. She never wanted me to be a part of Rachel's life, honestly she had her son at the time and her and her husband were fighting constantly, she probably thought her son was the only child she was going to have. I think that as soon as she found out Rachel was a girl she wanted to be the only female role model in that little girl's life and she seized the opportunity when her brother presented her with the situation. She never cared that I was the one who was giving up my child for her to gain this opportunity."

"She can't be that evil Shelby."

"Can't she though? You yourself have said that she cares for Rachel only as much as she needs to and not any more than that. She is selfish and self centered, appearances are all she cares about."

"We don't know the whole story Shell, we can't judge."

"You're right, but I want my daughter back. She is mine and you know that, even if she doesn't want to admit it, she knows she belongs with me."

"Be that as it may, we have to wait for a court to decide who she belongs with and even then Rachel does get a say in the matter. In the end everything is left up to Rachel and if she wants to stay with her aunt then more than likely that is where she is going to be." Jennifer said and I nodded sadly having realized this after I had the papers filed.

"Lets go celebrate." I said and Jennifer nodded as we both headed over to the table and took a seat while we waited for the pizza to be distributed.

Overall the meal was quite enjoyable. Rachel was content with her friends from Lima and Jesse so Jennifer and I were able to talk without having Rachel glare at me or wish that I was dead every time I opened my mouth. Jennifer paid for Rachel and her friends while I paid for everyone else on the team. I had insisted on paying for absolutely everyone but somehow my sister had talked the wait staff into letting her pay for some people, which she is going to get a strong talking to about later.

I waited around for everyone to leave before I got up and headed out to my car. Jennifer and Rachel had left earlier but being as I was the teacher I was stuck waiting for all of my lovely students to leave before I could make my way home. On my way home I decided to take the long way home and drive by Rachel's aunt's house just to make sure she had made it home alright. I mean of course she made it home just fine, but I just wanted to be sure that she went straight home after the dinner like her and Jennifer agreed on her doing. What was I saying, I just wanted to try and catch a glimpse of Rachel before I went home.

Mia's house was a little out of my way but if I could just get a quick glance of Rachel it would be worth the wasted gas. I slowed my car down as I approached the house only to see Mia tossing things out on her lawn, followed by Rachel screaming something at her. The longer the argument carried on the more apparent it was that Mia was throwing Rachel's things out onto the front lawn while Rachel yelled at her and tried to talk some sense into the enraged woman.

I quickly parked my car on the side of the road headed towards the commotion that was taking place. I may of walked away from Rachel before but there was no way that I was just going to drive by while my daughter was being thrown out of the only home she had.

"What is going on here?" I asked as I stormed up to the house, pulling my jacket a little tighter around my body as I felt the slight chill in the Ohio air.

"Oh look Rachel your mother dearest is here to collect your things." Mia bit as Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I'm telling you I didn't know, I didn't ask her to file those papers. I swear!" Rachel yelled and I sighed.

"She didn't know Mia, that was my doing-"

"Who do you think you are to just meddle with people's lives? My brother never wanted you in her life-"

"No YOU never wanted me in her life, that was why you had your brother and his husband draw up that stupid contract. I should have been allowed to be there from the very beginning but you hated me, you always did-"

"Then take her, I'm not going fight you on this. Take your stupid ass papers and your daughter and get out of here. I'm done, Rachel is welcome here whenever she wants to be here but she cannot live her, not as long as you're around."

"Aunt Mia-"

"I'm sorry Rachel, I'm just- I'm sorry." Mia said as she stepped around the things she had tossed outside and back into the house leaving Rachel and I alone.

"You ruined everything you know that right? If you thought I hated you before you have no idea how I feel now. You got me kicked out of my home, the ONLY place I still had, you ruined it. Why are you doing this to me? Why can't you leave good enough alone?"

"Because I love you Rachel, is that so hard to believe? I freaking love you Rachel, more than life itself, it hurts so bad sometimes-"

"Then why did you walk away? Why did you hurt me like that?" Rachel asked as tears streamed down her face.

"I was immature-"

"And that has changed? I hate you, I really and truly hate you. How could you file those papers? You don't know me as anything more than a student and you want to force me to live with you? What would that accomplish, us living together under one roof, me hating you while you put out the appearance that you have this perfect life. News Flash Shelby things in life don't always go as planned." Rachel said as she gathered a few things off the lawn and started to walk towards her car.

"Where are you going?" I asked and she shrugged.

"Probably to my other aunts, luckily you can't get me kicked out of there." Rachel remarked.

"Don't make her choose."

"Why? Are you afraid that she might choose me over you?" Rachel sassed and I shook my head.

"She told me to file those papers Rachel-"

"She wouldn't."

"Are you so sure? Would you risk that?"

"I fucking hate you. I'll find somewhere else to go-"

"Rachel-"

"NO! Stop it, just stop. I'm not going with you, and I never will!"

"Go." Blaine said as he stepped out onto the front porch. "Rachel you can't go on like this. You have been miserable since my mom took you in, you're almost back to the girl I used to know but you can't keep this up. Give your mom a chance, give yourself a chance."


	18. Chapter 18

_**Alright I've updated! Sorry for the wait I had this done for about a week now and I don't know why I didn't post it I just didn't but it's here finally and now you can stop nagging about me posting this chapter! WHO HOO... anyway I hope you enjoy and I will try to post the next chapter sooner but I make no promises!**_

_**-Katie**_

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

"I'm only here for the night. I'll talk to Jesse tomorrow and see if I can stay with him while I work out this whole living situation." Rachel said as she threw her bag down onto the couch and then followed that with her body.

I just nodded as Rachel started to ramble on and on about leaving. All that was going through my head at the moment was that Rachel was really here. She was here sitting on my couch, talking to me. Rachel was in my care, at least for the night. I mean yeah she had been here before but this time she was here as my daughter, I guess sometimes dreams do come true. Even if they only come true in some sort of diluted way.

"Are you even listening to me?" Rachel barked, snapping me out of my giddy stupor.

"Sorry I got side tracked, what were you saying?" I asked causing Rachel to roll her eyes.

"Of course you got sidetracked, I mean who has time to listen to their own daughter they've been neglecting for her entire life? I mean you've ignored her this long why break the perfect streak now?" Rachel sassed starting to ride on my last nerve.

"Just tell me what was so important to you that you needed my attention?" I asked having had just about enough of Rachel's attitude.

"I was asking where I was suppose to sleep. I've had a long day and I would really like to get some rest."

"Well at the moment you are sitting on the guest bed." I stated and Rachel moaned.

"You've have got to be kidding me. This is what you put together? You wanted to gain custody of me and you never stopped to think that I would need a suitable place to sleep? Did you put any type of thought into this plan or was it just you trying to get what you want like some spoiled child?" Rachel asked and I just smiled to keep myself from slapping the child who was sitting in front of me.

"You know where the guest bathroom is, help yourself to what ever, I'll be in my room if you need me." I said as I turned on my heel and headed towards my room.

I knew that in a perfect world Rachel would have fallen into my arms and we would have talked about the negative energy between us, leading to this perfect mother daughter relationship, but this was real life and nothing was going to be that easy. If I wanted this I was going to have to put up with her sass and anger and let time take its course. It was going to be hard but I knew it was going to be worth it in the end.

I waited for a moment before I headed into my bathroom to get ready for bed. I wasn't really sure if Rachel was going to be here when I woke up but I was just hoping that she would at least listen to her cousin and give me a shot. I mean I was in the process of looking for a house so that I could move out of my one bedroom condo and into a place where Rachel could have her own space, I had put some thought into this whole thing. This wasn't just some last minute notion that I was going to grow out of in a minute, I really wanted her here, which was why I was looking for the new house. I just have this feeling that things would be better if I could give her some space. Us two living so close together like we were attempting at the moment was only going to end with one of our deaths.

When I was done in the bathroom I took a deep breath before I walked out to go check on Rachel. I wasn't sure if I should but I always remember my mom checking on me before I went to bed so I guessed it was something that parents were suppose to do.

I could see that Rachel was curled up on the couch when I walked out. I quickly walked over to the hall closet and pulled out my extra comforter and pillow and then draped the blanket over Rachel and handed the pillow to her.

"Thank you." Rachel softly said before she tucked the pillow under her head and then gripped the top of the comforter with her hands.

"Good night Rachel."

"Night." Rachel said and I awkwardly walked out of the living room and headed back towards my bedroom.

If anything, it was going to be a long night.

I felt like I had just fallen asleep when my alarm clock started blaring letting me know that it was time to get up. During competition season I never get a break, it was one thing after another, and now it was time to get up and go to work.

I was debating with myself about checking on Rachel. I mean I didn't even know if she was here and if she was I wasn't sure if she had an alarm set for herself or if she was used to being woken up. I really wasn't too terribly sure of my role. I know that Rachel wanted nothing to do with me, but I also knew that she would be pissed if she wasn't woken up on time.

I decided that as soon as I was ready I was going to go and check on Rachel. I mean I knew that it didn't take me that long to get ready being as I usually took the hour after I was ready going over different routines for Vocal Adrenaline so there would be plenty of time for Rachel to get up and ready if she wasn't already.

I quickly got dressed into a white blouse and a black skirt before I slipped on some black heels and then headed out into the living room.

I was surprised to still see Rachel tucked neatly under the covers. I had honestly thought that she would have been gone, or at least up. Rachel always seemed so put together and on top of things but she did have a rough night.

"Rachel?" I called from my doorway hoping that the girl would stir but she was proving to be more like me than she would like to let on.

Knowing that this was going to take a while if I wasn't careful and cunning. I quickly made my way into my room and grabbed my ipod dock and headed into the living room and set it up.

There were two ways that someone could wake me up, one was to dump water on me, not the way to go with Rachel, and then there was Barbara.

Once everything was set up I flipped through my playlist stopping on the wonderful Barbara song that Rachel had nailed yesterday and then pressed play. If Rachel really was anything like me there was no way that she was going to be able to sleep through this song.

It was four words into the song that I knew I had found Rachel's weakness as she shot up from the couch and started to sing along. As soon as the song was over she looked over at me and waited for me to say something.

"Good morning, you have forty-five minutes to be ready for school." I said before I walked over to the kitchen and went about starting a pot of coffee for me to enjoy.

Rachel was silent as she went about getting ready. I guess forty-five minutes wasn't enough time for her to get ready because she seemed like she was in a rush as she frantically fluttered about the condo.

I was just finishing my second cup of coffee when Rachel came into the kitchen and grabbed herself some fruit.

"Are you ready for school?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yup, I'm going to head out now if that's okay." Rachel said and I nodded.

"Of course, it's your choice. I'll see you in class." I said and Rachel gave me a half smile before she turned and walked out of the condo with me leaving not too long after.

I was surprised by the way that Shelby woke me up this morning. My aunt would always just drip water on me until I was up but I liked the way that Shelby went about waking me up. I mean I still hated the woman with a burning passion but I was glad that she didn't just dump water on me and call it a morning, it was better for both of our healths.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

I was just happy as I walked into school and saw Jesse waiting for me at my locker. I was finally able to start looking for other places to stay until I got everything settled and was able to talk my aunt into letting me move back in with her.

"Eventful night huh?" Jesse asked after my good morning kiss and I gave him a questioning look.

"And how do you know about my eventful night huh?" I asked and he smirked.

"Your cousin called me and asked me to not let you move in with me, he said that you getting to know your mother would be the best thing for you." Jesse said and I sighed.

"He said that did he? Did he also mention that I am going to kill that little brat if he doesn't butt out of my life?"

"No he left that part out but I will be sure to remind him of that the next time I talk to him but I agree that you living with your mother might just be the best thing for you, both of you."

"Everybody is an expert on this subject huh?" I chided and Jesse just sighed before he pulled me into a deep kiss.

"Give it a chance at least, I'm not getting in the middle of this so what other choice do you have?" Jesse asked and I paused for a moment. "Just give her a shot Rachel, if she screws up again I promise you can stay with me until you graduate, just give her a shot." Jesse pleaded.

"Fine." I whined only to have Jesse cut my pouting off again with another kiss.

"Wait a second, something is off." Jesse said after a moment and I looked around and then back to him.

"What?" I asked and he held up a finger and then pulled me in for another kiss placing his hand firmly on my ass.

"Good morning St. James, I suggest you display your affection for school work now because your time with my niece is over." Jennifer said as she separated the two of us and Jesse smirked.

"Ah, everything is right in the world again. I'll see you later." Jesse said as he pecked my cheek and then headed down the hall towards his class.

"That kid has some nerve." Jennifer stated and I quickly turned to her and glared.

"I'm mad at you." I stated and she gave me a minor confused look.

"Why?" She asked and I pointed to Shelby who was walking down the hall and then I headed towards class.

In all honesty I wasn't that mad at Jennifer but at the same time there was no way that I was going to let her off scotch free. She was the one who pushed Shelby to file the papers that got me kicked out of my aunt's home and she was going to have to pay for that.

Classes were fine up until the time when I had to go to Shelby's class. I mean how in the world was I suppose to tell her that I was staying with her? I mean on top of having to stay with her there was that stupid couch that I was being forced to sleep on. If I was going to be giving her a chance there were going to have to be some changes, there was no was in hell that I was going to deal with terrible sleep conditions the rest of my life.

I made it through class without too much awkwardness but as soon as the bell rang I knew that I had to talk to Shelby. There was no way that I was going to be able to focus during rehearsal until I told her and there was no way that I was going to make it.

"Shelby may I talk to you?" I asked after everyone else had left and she briefly looked up and nodded.

"Let's go to my office, that way no one will disturb us." Shelby said as she got up and headed towards her office.

I was nervous to say the least. There was no backing out of my decision after I made it, although there was really no where to back out to at the moment which was why I had to choose this option to begin with.

"So you wanted to talk?" Shelby asked after we were both seated in her office and I nodded.

"Yes but first I need to ask a few questions." I said and Shelby gave me a curt nod and I took that as my signal to begin. "Have you thought about moving out of your condo? I mean the place is nice and all but its totally not big enough-"

"So what does this mean?" Shelby asked and I sighed.

"Answer my question first." I said trying to hold strong.

"Yes I have thought about it, I've been looking at houses for about a week now but I haven't found anything."

"Well if I am going to stay with you then we need to find some place else and fast, but until then I am going to at least need a real bed. The couch was fine for one night but it was like sleeping on a pile of bricks and I can't do that for a long period of time."

"So again what does this all mean?" Shelby asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? I have no where else to go, I'm stuck with you." I said and Shelby nodded.

"Well we can continue to look for places to live and I agree that you need a real bed but there will be rules that you need to follow if you are going to be living with me." Shelby said and I nodded.

"I figured."

"Good, we can talk about those later tonight. Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Shelby asked and I shook my head.

"Not at the moment." I said and she smiled.

"Alright, I guess I will see you at rehearsal then?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yup."

Oh and Rachel-" Shelby called as I was fixing to leave and I turned to face her.

"Yes?" I asked, anxious to get out of her office.

"Go easy on your aunt, I was the one who listened to her, she didn't file the paper work."

Shelby was right, I should go easy on my aunt, should though doesn't mean that I have to.

For the first rehearsal back since the competition Shelby tore us a new one. I guess sometime between the competition ending yesterday afternoon, the celebration lunch, gaining custody of me last night, and rehearsal today she had time to review tapes of our competition last night and take very detailed notes about every little flaw that there was. It was sort of ridiculous, Shelby made us correct the mistakes that we made in the routines that we had performed yesterday which ended up taking all of rehearsal. I mean if we weren't going to performing these routines again, then why worry about perfecting them after the fact? Whatever reason she had, she seemed happy with the end result and informed the team that tomorrow we would be starting on new routines for Regionals.

"So you're heading to the lions den now?" Jesse joked with me as we walked out to our cars and I nodded.

"Looks like it, unless you want to change your mind about letting me stay with you." I said giving Jesse my puppy dog face to which he just started laughing.

"Nice try. Go home." Jesse said as he pushed me towards my car and I just rolled my eyes.

"It's not my home." I chided and Jesse rolled his eyes.

"Close enough, good night Rachel." Jesse said before he placed a chaste kiss on my cheek and then headed towards his own car.

"Easy for you to say!" I yelled after him before I bit the bullet and got into my car and headed towards Shelby's condo.

I was surprised to see that Shelby had beaten me to the condo. I mean I swore that her car was still in the parking lot when I left, then again I wasn't really paying attention so it could have been someone else's car. I parked next to her car and then headed up to the shoebox that she called a home.

Being as I had no key to the place I was glad that Shelby was here first. The door wasn't unlocked but I was at least able to knock and have her open the door for me instead of having to sit and wait outside.

I was shocked when I walked in to the condo. Shelby had a bed delivered sometime when we were at school and it was placed in it's own little area so that it was a makeshift room.

"So what do you think?" Shelby asked as I set my bag down and walked a little closer to investigate.

"When-how-what?" I stuttered and Shelby let out a small chuckle.

"I have connections, but what do you think? I was thinking that maybe we could start looking at houses this weekend but until then I know that you wanted well more of needed a bed so here it is-"

"I told you about me moving in with you only a few hours ago, and you managed to get me a bed in that short amount of time?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes, now imagine what I could get accomplished in a matter of minutes if you ever got in trouble." Shelby said and I shuddered a little at the thought.

"Well thanks for the bed." I said as I tried to side step Shelby but she stopped me and moved us both to the couch where she handed me a few pieces of paper that were stapled together. "What is this?" I asked and Shelby sighed.

"Well I said that there were going to be rules-"

"This is a behavior contract." I said after I skimmed the first page and Shelby nodded.

"You don't view me as your mother which I respect so I needed to get my rules across in a way that we both could agree on-"

"I agreed to this?" I remarked and she just ignored my comment.

"This contract is a simple, I outlined my rules. You can take the night to review the contract and in the morning we can go over anything that you think should be modified and then you can sign this so we both understand that you know the rules and you are obligated to follow them." Shelby said and I nodded.

"Okay, that seems fair."

"Good, so I'm starving. Would you like chinese food or italian?" Shelby said and I shrugged.

"I sort of just want a shower at the moment." I said and Shelby nodded.

"Okay, you can grab a shower and I will order something for us for dinner. Vegetarian right?" Shelby asked and I nodded as I grabbed some clean pajamas and headed towards the bathroom.

I had just gotten out of the shower and was drying off when Shelby knocked on the door to let me know that the food had been delivered and it was waiting for me in the kitchen.

In all honesty I was not looking forward to this dinner. I mean I barely had any sort of civil conversation with Shelby and now I was going to be eating dinner with her? Actually I was going to be living with her so I should just get used to the tension that was going to be going on between us, but I was so not looking forward to this.

"Hey there are containers of chinese food on the counter, help yourself." Shelby said from the couch where she was eating and watching some television.

"Thanks." I said as I walked into the kitchen and I made a plate for myself.

I ate dinner by myself in the kitchen and when I was done I took Shelby's behavior contract over to my bed and started to skim through it.

**Behavior Agreement**

**NO DRINKING **

**2. NO DRUGS**

**10PM CURFEW ON WEEKDAYS, WEEKENDS 11PM**

**NO SWEARING**

**NO BACKTALK**

**KEEP YOUR LIVING AREA NEAT**

**HELP WITH CHORES**

**NO FRIENDS OVER**

**NO SNEAKING OUT**

**NO TELEVISION AFTER 9:30PM**

**NO PHONE CALLS AFTER CURFEW**

**NO PARTIES**

**HOMEWORK IS DONE BEFORE ELECTRONICS ARE USED**

**...**

It seemed like the list went on and on and when the list was finally finished I had to read through a page of consequences that included but was not limited to grounding, getting my electronics taken away, having to be escorted from class to class, musical suicides, running laps, writing sentences, and for major offenses spankings.

I quickly grabbed a pan from my bag and started to circle things that I did not agree with. I mean I understood having a curfew during the week but on weekends I never had a curfew and I think that it should stay that way, and on top of that the television, electronics, and party thing was way out of line. I was sixteen not five and while I needed some rules there were others that were not necessary. Oh and that spanking thing, I was not comfortable with that AT ALL.

"It looks like you're making a lot of changes." Shelby commented and I sighed.

"Not too many, just some revisions and getting rid of somethings that I am not comfortable with." I said and she nodded.

"Well we will go over it in the morning, I am heading to bed and I suggest you do the same soon being as you are going to have to get up earlier than you did today so we can get everything done before you have to be at school." Shelby said and I nodded.

"As soon as I am done looking through this I will." I said and she smiled a little before she turned and started to walk out of the room.

"Good night Rachel, see you in the morning!" She called and I rolled my eyes.

"Yep." And depending on how many things I had to change on this stupid agreement, would determine how great of a morning it was going to be.


	19. Chapter 19

**Shelby's POV:**

"So let me get this straight, you don't want any curfew and I should be okay with that?" I asked trying to clarify what Rachel had just told me.

"Yes, you should be okay with that. I mean I am sixteen, I'm not five-"

"Regardless you should have a curfew-"

"No I shouldn't! My dads never gave me one and neither did my aunt. I've never had one and why should I start now?" Rachel asked and I couldn't do anything but sigh.

"Because if you are going to live here then you are going to have a curfew." I said hoping that was the end of it but not with Rachel, never with Rachel.

"NEWS FLASH Shelby, I HAVE to live here being as you snatched away my other options." Rachel snapped once again leaving a huge amount of tension between us.

When I had planned out this whole negotiation thing I had envisioned it going so differently. I had pictured compromises and us agreeing on terms but this had just turned into a battle of the wills and I was so over it. Rachel was so used to being left to do whatever she wanted and there was no way that I was going to put up with that. I was starting to realize I was going to just have to set rules and stick to them whether she liked them or not. I had to step up and be a parent here or it was always going to be like this between us and I could not let that happen.

"Well you're having a curfew Rachel regardless of what you think. Now what else do you disagree with?" I asked starting to assert my new found authority over my petulant child.

"I can't do this with you!" Rachel said pushing the contract aside as she got up in a huff.

"Sit down Rachel, we need to finish this-"

"No! I have to get to school and you need to look up what compromise means before we take this any farther. I've given in to some of your stupid rules, the least you can do is give me this!" Rachel yelled as she grabbed her bag and left the condo.

I was in shock to say the least. Rachel just yelled at me, flat out yelled at me in my own house. Was I going soft or something? Had it of been anyone else I would have put them in their place faster than fast but with Rachel I was frozen. Was this how my life with her was going to be? She was going to get mad and I was just going to let her storm out? I just couldn't fathom what I was suppose to do at the moment.

As soon as I could manage to think straight again I grabbed my phone and got a sub for my classes today and then went ahead and scheduled a few walk throughs of houses that I had seen online. I was determined to work things out with Rachel and a good start to that was finding a house for us to live in. Being that at the rate that our relationship was going it was going to be a matter of hours before one of us killed the other one and prison orange was not my color.

I made myself some breakfast and then poured myself a fresh cup of coffee before heading to go meet the realtor at the first house I liked. It was hard to concentrate on what I was doing as I drove to meet at the house. I could tell that there was all this pent up aggravation that Rachel had and I got glimpses of it now and again but she pushed most of it back. I just knew that until she got that anger out we were going no where and I had to accept that. There were some things that I could control but this was not one of them. Rachel had a lot of emotions that she was dealing with and until she faced them instead of pushed them aside we were going to have an estranged relationship.

When I got to the house I could see that the realtor was waiting for me so I made quick work of parking my car and walking up to the front porch to meet with her.

"You must be Shelby Corcoran." The woman said as she extended her hand I I shook it with a smile.

"I am."

"Well I am Michelle Coleman and I will be working with you today and hopefully in the future. Now this is the first house that you expressed an interest in. It's a four bedroom three bath house. It was recently renovated and the backyard is totally fenced in for privacy, would you like to go ahead and take a look?" Michelle asked and I nodded as she opened the door and we headed inside.

The house was nice, but it wasn't right and it was not going on the list of places to show Rachel. After the first house came a slew of other houses and nothing was seeming to fit. All these things looked so good on paper but when I was actually looking at them they weren't as nice as they seemed. Something was missing with these houses and I couldn't tell what it was.

"So none of the houses on your list are what you are looking for?" Michelle asked and I sighed feeling like I not only wasted my own time but I wasted her time as well.

"No, just nothing seemed as good as it did online." I said and she smiled.

"Sometimes things just look better on paper. How about I head back to my office and look through some other listings that I have and see if I can come up with a few houses for you to look at based on the things that the houses you choose have in common." Michelle said.

"That would be great, I'm just trying to find a house as soon as possible." I said and she nodded.

"I will make sure that I have a list of places for you to look at before the weekend." Michelle said before we walked out of the house and towards our cars.

Michelle and I exchanged our pleasantries before I got into my car and headed towards Carmel where I was still having VA rehearsals.

When I got to school I still had about ten minutes before the final bell was to sound and I had to make my way to the auditorium so I took that time to head to my office to gather anything that I might need for rehearsal. I was just about to unlock the door to my office when Jennifer came out of no where and started to question me.

"Where were you? When I saw that you had a sub today I asked Rachel and she said that you gave her no indication that you weren't coming to school today. Do you know how that made me feel, I mean for all I know someone could have broken into your condo after Rachel left and called in a sub for you, and then-"

"I'm here, I'm fine. Stop worrying Jennifer I just went to go look at houses today."

"Did you find any? Who is your realtor? Oh my gosh did you tell Rachel? I bet she is going to be so excited that you are serious about this!" Jennifer chirped.

"No, Michelle Coleman, and no." I said as I finally unlocked my office and made my way inside with Jennifer tailing me inside.

"Why didn't you tell Rachel? Are you going to?" Jennifer asked and I nodded.

"Yes I am going to tell Rachel, I just wanted to find houses that I liked first and then I was going to take her to make the final decision." I said and Jennifer nodded.

"I guess that makes sense. She still isn't talking to me." Jennifer let out with a sigh and I gave her a look.

"What do you want me to do about it? I told her not to take it out on you and clearly she doesn't listen to me. She doesn't view me as anything more than her coach I don't even know why I am trying-"

"You're trying because you want to be more than her coach. This thing with Rachel is new Shelby and it's going to take time, but don't give up because of those reasons." Jennifer said and I nodded.

"I know that it is going to take time but I wish that things were simple and this was a movie or something where we could have a heart to heart and things would be fixed." I whined as Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"You're Shelby Corcoran, nothing in your life is that simple. Even so nothing that comes that comes that easy in life is worth it." Jennifer joked.

"I know, I'm just at a loss as far as how to relate to Rachel. I've never really dealt with kids outside of school relations before and it's not like I've had much family practice. I'm the oldest out of us and no one"

"You were a teenager once, do something that teenage Shelby liked to do with mom, or would have liked to do with mom. You are over thinking this whole thing Shel, just talk with the kid for goodness sakes, she is quite the talker if you can get her started and that isn't that hard to do either."

"The problem I have is getting her started. We don't communicate well Jen and in all honesty there is just too much tension for a real conversation to happen, it's just really hard."

"She's not that complex Shelby, even with all the tension you can have a civil conversation with her. Start with asking her how her day was and after the sarcastic answer she gives you keep asking her questions eventually she will just talk freely so you shut up. That is what I did with our mom and Rachel operates the same way."

"It's worth a shot, thanks. You know for a kid sister, you're pretty cool when you want to be." I toyed and Jennifer scoffed.

"I'm always cool, you just have your head too far up your ass sometimes to see that." She retorted and I pointed out of my office so she got the hint to leave.

Once Jennifer was gone I went about quickly making up a short to-do list for rehearsal today so that I could spend the shortest amount of time possible in rehearsal so I would have time to spend with Rachel tonight so that I could actually take the time to get to know the kid that I am so desperate to know.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

"I can't believe that we still have rehearsal today. I mean she wasn't at school, there should be some sort of rule about that or something." One of the VA kids whined as we stretched on stage prior to the start of rehearsal.

"That kid has been on this team long enough to realize Shelby Corcoran does not cancel rehearsal, not even if she is dying in bed." Jesse said as he sat down next to me and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah well she could have at least told me she wasn't coming to school today so I wasn't in complete shock when my aunt came and asked me where she was."

"Don't you live with her? You would think that would be something that would come up in a conversation." Jesse said and I shrugged.

"I sort of blew up at her this morning so there was no real discussion. You don't think that me yelling at her could of been the reason she didn't come to school today do you?" I asked but before Jesse could respond Shelby walked into the auditorium signaling the beginning of rehearsal.

"Alright lets get moving everybody, I don't want to be here all night!" Shelby called as we all lined up for more instructions.

I was surprised by the task that she had in place today. It was simple really, all we had to do was run through some songs that she had picked and then we were done. In fact this was one of the least stressful rehearsals I had been to since I started on VA.

"Something is going on." Jesse said as soon as Shelby dismissed us for the night.

"You think?" I sassed as I gathered my things.

"How bad was your blow up this morning?" Jesse asked and I sighed.

"I didn't think it was that bad. I mean it was on the lower level of my whole diva scale, why am I even making up excuses? I deserve to be mad, I deserve to have blown up at her." I seethed and Jesse rolled his eyes.

"Such a drama queen, you know you are sometimes more of a drama queen than I am." He joked and I just shoved him a little before I got up, placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, and headed out of the auditorium towards the parking lot.

I was almost to my car when a small clan of VA girls came out from behind the Range Rovers and blocked me from getting to my car.

"Oh look, momma's little princess is in such a hurry to get home. It would be such a shame if something was to delay her in getting to her castle." Giselle sneered and I just shifted my weight as I waited for her to clear out of the way of my car.

"I'm really not in the mood for this." I said as calmly as possible. In all honesty it had been a long day and I was not in the mood for Giselle's games.

"Poor baby, it must be so hard not always getting your way."

"What the hell is this all about Giselle?" I asked tired of the way that Giselle had been treating me since day one.

"This is about the special treatment that you have been receiving since the day your mommy dearest found out you were her daughter. I was suppose to be the female lead and then you walk into this place like you are entitled to everything just because you share blood with the coach!" Giselle barked and I rolled my eyes.

"You are delusional and I am not going to have this conversation with you. I earned the female lead position and it had nothing to do with who I am related to. I can out sing you any day any time." I countered to a chorus of 'ohs' from the crowd that had grown as other gathered.

"That sounds like a challenge." Giselle spat and I shrugged.

"Take it as whatever you want it to be but if you will excuse me I have to go." I said as I pushed past Giselle so I could get to my car.

"Fine then, tomorrow during lunch and since you challenged I pick the song. Sleep well princess." Giselle said and I just smiled.

"I always do." I retorted as I got into my Range Rover before I headed towards Shelby's condo.

Giselle must have waited in the parking lot until Shelby left. That girl was just bad news and I knew better than to engage in something with someone like that but she just irked me and I couldn't help but going toe to toe with her. Although I wasn't too worried about this whole sing off thing, Giselle should have thought about who she was challenging before she opened her mouth. I mean she really wanted to challenge me to a sing off? The people in this school were so messed up.

When I got to the condo I parked next to Shelby's car and then I headed upstairs. Shelby was in the kitchen when I entered the condo. I hung up my jacket on the hooks by the door and once I slipped off my shoes I went and placed my things on my bed hoping to have a moment of peace before Shelby called me in to talk to me about this morning but of course I had no such luck.

"Hey Rachel can you come in here for a minute?" Shelby called and I sighed as I dropped my bag and turned towards the kitchen awaiting my doom.

"Of course, it's not like I have anything else to do." I chirped as I walked in and leaned on the island that separated me from the woman who bore me.

"How was school today?" Shelby asked as she fluttered about the kitchen and I sighed realizing that she had clearly not heard what I had previously said.

"It was fine, but you would have known that if you showed up today." I quipped and she smiled.

"Yes I would have. So I am making salads for dinner, is that alright with you? I mean we could do something else if you would prefer that." Shelby said as if my sarcastic comment was nothing to her. Seriously I was striking out with this woman, left and right and it was becoming no fun.

"Salad is fine. Why weren't you at school today?" I asked wondering if she would actually tell me or if she really didn't want me to know.

"I was looking at houses. I've looked through a ton of houses online and after this morning I was really thinking that we needed some personal space."

"Oh, did you find anything?" I asked trying to pry a little and she shook her head.

"No, not really. I mean online all the houses looked great but none of them were what I really wanted. They just missed that something special. Anyway our realtor is putting together other houses that she think will work and I am meeting with her later on this week." Shelby said and I nodded feeling a little hurt that she was looking at houses without me.

"Okay." I said as Shelby stopped and looked at me for a second.

"Would you want to come with me? It wouldn't be during school of course but I was thinking Saturday-"

"Yeah! I-I mean if you want me to that is." I said trying not to sound too excited but clearly I was failing at it.

"I would love for you to join me. So do you have any homework?" Shelby asked and I shook my head.

"Nope, I finished my homework during Vocal Techniques." I said realizing my mistake too late.

"Really? What did the sub have you do that you had time to do your homework during my class?" Shelby asked and I smirked.

"She put on a video and then she sat at her desk and texted people the entire time." I said and Shelby rolled her eyes.

"You just can't trust anyone to do what they are suppose to these days. Anyway being as you are done with your homework, thanks to the free day you had in my absence, would you like to watch a movie?" Shelby asked and I shrugged.

"I guess, it all depends on what movies you have." I said and she scoffed.

"You know what movies I have, you and Jesse already went through my collection." Shelby said and I shook my head.

"No, Jesse went through your collection but I guess I can look and see if I want to watch a movie with you." I said and she shook her head.

"You are too much sometimes, go look and I am going to get started on making dinner." She said and I walked into the other room and started to look through her movies.

Normally it would have been a no brainer and I would have gone with Funny Girl, but I wasn't really in the mood. That was one movie that I indulged in with my dads and honestly Shelby had not earned the privilege of watching that movie with me. In the end I went with a romantic comedy that I was not really that interested in watching but personally I just wanted to see what Shelby's taste in movies was like.

"So what did you pick?" Shelby asked as she walked into the living room with our dinner and I held up the movie. "You want to watch that?" She asked and I quirked my eyebrow.

"Would you prefer something different?" I asked and Shelby shrugged.

"That movie is just not my cup of tea." Shelby said and I smirked.

"How about The Devil Wears Prada?" I asked and Shelby nodded.

"That sounds much better. Get comfortable and I will put the movie on for us." Shelby said and I went over and sat on the couch.

It was really awkward for the first half of the movie. I could tell that Shelby and I were feeling the same way so I decided to try and do something about it.

"What's your favorite color?" I asked and Shelby started laughing as she turned her attention away from the TV and towards me.

"You had to ask?" She questioned and I nodded.

"Yes." I said and she smiled.

"Sorry I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable with that question it's just-purple, I like purple." Shelby said and I couldn't help but laugh being as I felt like a complete idiot for asking that question.

"I don't know why I asked that question, that one was pretty obvious." I said and Shelby nodded.

"How about you, what is your favorite color?" Shelby asked and I thought for a moment.

"Gold, like the stars that I love so much." I said and Shelby smirked.

"Genetics are really amazing." She commented and I gave her a weird look.

"How?" I asked and she pointed to the decorations around the room.

"I have a thing for stars as well." Shelby said before she brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "So why did you decide to become a vegetarian?" Shelby asked and I just shrugged.

"I don't know really, it was something that my dads were trying and it just sort of stuck." I said and Shelby just nodded for a moment.

"I tried being a vegetarian for a while." Shelby said and I gave her a curious look.

"What happened?" I asked and she smirked.

"I was hired by your dads to have you and you gave me quite the meat cravings and after that I was doomed to be a carnivore forever." Shelby joked and I quickly tried to change the subject away from anything that had to do with my birth.

"So romantic comedies aren't your thing huh?" I asked and Shelby shook her head.

"Not really, I find them sort of stupid. I mean come on a funny love story? Honestly I don't really like most of the movies that are filmed this day in age." Shelby commented and I nodded.

"I can totally understand that." I said as we fell into silence and our attention turned back towards the movie.

It was weird, things with Shelby were just weird. It was nice having an actual conversation with her. I mean I've had conversations with her before but this, this was different. I was not her student at this point and she was not my teacher, granted she was not my mother either, but it was sort of nice. I mean in the totally freaky way that this was so strange that it might actually be considered normal if anyone else was in the room sort of way.

"So I was thinking of inviting your aunt and uncle over for dinner Friday, would you be alright with that?" Shelby asked and I shrugged.

"I don't see why they can't come over I mean they are your family." I commented and Shelby gave me a look.

"They are your family too Rachel." Shelby said and I shrugged.

"By blood, I'm sort of tired so I think that I am going to go ahead and turn in for the night, I've had a busy day at school." I said and Shelby nodded as she turned off the television and got up and stretched.

"Good night Rachel." Shelby said and I smiled a little.

"Night Shelby." I said knowing that I had just gotten out of having to discuss the whole behavior contract with her meaning that technically there were no rules at this point.

When Shelby was in her room I got up and moved over to my bed and pulled out that small diary that was tucked safely between my mattress and the bed frame and I opened it up to a fresh page.

_Dear Daddy,_

_I'm a lot of things right not, confused is the most prominent at the moment though. You promised me that you would tell me about my mother and that never happened so everything I discover about her has to be on my own. It's not fair. All I have to go one is that stupid contract and the very few things that were left. It's just so confusing and frustrating. I respect what you and Papa wanted but did you really want me to left in such a fugue of information?_

_I can see so much of myself in her daddy and it makes me sad sometimes that I am just now getting to know her. Don't get me wrong I love you and Papa more than anything_ _but__ I can't help but wonder what things would have been like had I of been with her since the beginning, had things of not gone according to plan. _

_Shelby and I are so alike it's scary but at the same time we are so vastly different. I'm afraid that she doesn't understand me at all though and I know that she has no idea what I need in my life or how she is suppose to fit into my life. Then again I don't know how she is suppose to fit into my life either. _

_But more than anything I miss you daddy. With each passing day I become more and more lonely and it doesn't matter that I have friends or family near, they aren't you. There is so much that you were suppose to tell me and you left before you got the chance._

_It's almost been a year now and in all honesty I don't know how much more I can take. As much as I have, I have nothing, I never had anything without you._

_I love you more than the sun and the moon combined Daddy_

_Love Always,_

_Your Little Rachie_

* * *

**a/n: _Here is the next chapter. I know that you want chapters sooner than I have been posting them but I can only post them when they are finished and sometimes inspiration doesn't strike quickly. I hope to get started on the next chapter soon but depending on how much time I have with my exams coming up it might take a week or two before I can post but trust me I am working on stuff!_**

**_-Katie_**


	20. Chapter 20

**Rachel's POV:**

"How the hell do you sleep like that?" Shelby asked as she walked past where I was laying.

"Like what?" I asked looking down at my body not seeing anything wrong with how I was situated.

"Your pillow is halfway across the room, your head is barely on the mattress, and your body is all-all like twisted and what not." Shelby said and I just shrugged as I untwisted myself and sat up.

"It's comfortable. What time is it?" I asked as I hung my legs over the edge of the bed and pushed my hair out of my face.

"It's a little after six, you have a little over an hour to get ready for school. By the way I think that we should think about only taking one car unless I know that I have to stay late or go in early." Shelby said and I nodded.

"Yeah I guess that makes sense." I said as I got up and went to go get dressed.

"Oh and Rachel?" Shelby called and I turned and looked at her as she nursed a cup of coffee.

"Yes?" I asked hoping that this wouldn't take long being as I was dying to take a shower.

"There is no behavior contract, there will be set rules that you will follow and that is the end of this discussion." Shelby said as my jaw dropped.

Since when did Shelby grow a spine and decide to step up and be a parent? I mean she had been tip toeing around me since we met and now all of a sudden she was stepping up and setting rules? Who was this woman and what did she do with behavior contract wielding Shelby?

"Rachel do you understand?" Shelby asked and I just nodded still trying to gather my barring.

It took a second but as soon as I gathered my wits I turned and headed into the bathroom where the plan was to take a quick shower. The warm water felt so nice as it surrounded my body though and I couldn't help but indulge in a few extra moments in the warmth leaving me with not enough time to dry my hair.

As soon as my shower was over I changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt before I quickly threw my hair into a braid and headed to the kitchen where Shelby was reading through some sheet music while drinking what had to be a new cup of coffee.

"So that whole car-pulling thing, does that start today?" I asked and Shelby nodded without looking up from what she was reading through. "Okay well then I will be ready in a few minutes." I said as I grabbed some cereal and then headed to grab a bowl and the milk.

"Take your time, we have about twenty minutes before we have to leave and I want to make sure you eat a good breakfast." Shelby said again without looking up and I just rolled my eyes and went about fixing my own breakfast like I had since I was five.

"What are you looking at?" I asked as I took a seat across the way from Shelby and she sighed.

"It's a new arrangement for VA but I don't know if we can pull it off." Shelby said making me laugh.

"So there are things that even VA can't handle." I joked and she smirked.

"I said I didn't know if VA could handle it, not that they couldn't." She corrected before putting the sheet music away. "I'm going to grab my things for work, do you think that you will be ready to leave by then?" She asked and I shrugged.

"Maybe." I said and she nodded before she went towards her room and I turned my attention over to the bowl of cereal that was sitting in front of me.

I was barely done with my breakfast when Shelby came back in being as it was sort of hard to swallow anything. I was just cleaning up when Shelby walked out of her room and she took over cleaning up my bowl so that I could grab my things for today. Shelby was talking about her schedule and I was just smiling and nodding so she thought that I was listening all the while I was thinking about the stupid sing off that I had with Giselle and the sore feeling that was starting in my throat.

"Are you feeling alright?" Shelby asked and I nodded.

"Yeah I feel fine. Why are you asking?" I questioned feeling my heart rate pick up a little.

Sickness was not something that happened. I wasn't allowed to be sick, when my dad was alive I was sent away if I even sneezed the wrong way. Since then I didn't get sick, Rachel Berry did not get sick.

"You just seem off." Shelby asked and I shrugged.

"Well this is the longest you've been around me so it could just be us settling in." I said trying to find a valid reason for Shelby to believe.

"That could be it." Shelby said before she pulled into the parking lot of the school and parked in her assigned spot.

As soon as the car was in park I hopped out and heading into the school. I could see that Jesse was already here and I wanted to talk to him before school started and possibly run through some vocal warm ups being as this was the only chance I was going to get before the big sing off.

As soon as Jesse saw me he smiled and I quickly gave him a peck on the cheek before I dragged him off to the auditorium so that we could warm up.

"Okay let's take it a little higher." Jesse said after we had gone through some warm ups and I just shook my head and clutched my throat.

"I can't, I think that VA rehearsals are taking a toll on my voice, all this singing is killing me." I said and Jesse sighed.

"Don't tell Shelby that, she will put you on vocal rest faster than fast and we can't have that if we want to win regionals."

"Regionals is still a ways a way-"

"It's not that far off Rachel and vocal rest if just not a place where you want to be. It's torture to have to do everything during rehearsal but sing, plus you can't talk and I don't think that is something that you can handle." Jesse teased and I rolled my eyes.

"I'll be fine, but I should be heading to class." I said before I gathered my things and headed towards my aunt's class room.

All through out my classes I could hear the whispers about my sing off with Giselle. There were people who thought that I was all talk and no vocals and then there were others who knew that Giselle didn't stand a chance.

When lunch finally rolled around I was more than a little ready for this. Giselle had no idea what was coming for her and I was going to prove once and for all that I was born to be the female lead singer, not her.

"Well look who showed up!" Giselle chirped as I approached the large crowd that had come to see the show.

"Of course I showed up, who else would put you in your place if I didn't?" I retorted and she just rolled her eyes.

"You're up first munchkin, Halo by Beyonce, if you can handle it. I myself will be singing Walking on Sunshine by Kristina and the Waves." Giselle quipped and I just smiled.

"Oh I can handle Beyonce. Hit it!" I said and music started playing.

The song was easy and I handled it with as such but as soon as I finished the song my throat was throbbing and I knew that this meant nothing good. I was going to have to rest my voice and drink a lot of water before rehearsal today if I wanted to avoid being put on vocal rest.

The crowd though seemed to love my performance, which meant that Giselle had a lot to live up to and I knew that she didn't have it in her. Throbbing throat and all I was about to take Giselle down a peg.

"Well I guess that means it's your turn." I said and Giselle smirked before signaling for the music to start.

Giselle was less than thrilling. The crowd was not amused and in the end they let her know that I was the clear winner finally putting her in her place once and for all. I was totally in my own little world that I didn't even notice the crowd go silent as Shelby approached both Giselle and myself.

"That was quite a performance ladies." Shelby said and I instantly froze where I was.

I don't know why but I could just tell that she was not happy with what was going on. Maybe it was the way that her eyes were glaring at Giselle and me, or it was the way that everyone was cowering away from the three of us.

"My office now." Shelby said before spinning on her heels and heading in the direction that we were just summoned.

Giselle and I silently walked side by side towards Shelby's office. I think that this was the first time that I had ever seen Giselle speechless and honestly I didn't blame her, angry Shelby was a scary Shelby. When we got to Shelby's office we were both directed into chairs while she placed a copy of the VA contract in front of us.

"Giselle will you please read the second paragraph on the third page?" Shelby asked and Giselle picked up the paper and cleared her throat.

"Participants of Vocal Adrenaline will not partake in vocal advents on campus not relating to VA. If a Vocal Adrenaline member if caught partaking in such an activity they risk expulsion from the team." Giselle said and Shelby finally took a seat across from us.

"Vocal Adrenaline is a highly regarded club on campus ladies, I will not tolerate you two going out and making a mockery of us. Performances that I approve for the enjoyment of other students are different than what you two displayed this afternoon and if it happens again I will not hesitate in suspending you both from the team. Do I make myself clear?" Shelby asked and Giselle and I both nodded. "Good, Giselle you are dismissed, Rachel you had a vocal lesson at lunch today." Shelby said looking really irritated.

"Since when?" I asked and she sighed.

"I told you about it this morning, were you not listening?" She asked and I shook my head figuring that it did no good for me to lie to her. "Well then lets salvage what we can of this lesson and we will discuss everything else later." Shelby said as she got up and we both went to her classroom.

Vocal warm ups went fine but the pain in my throat was growing and I knew that I should stop while I was ahead or at least tell Shelby but Jesse's words were floating in my mind so I kept my mouth shut.

"Okay so we are going to start with The Climb by Miley Cyrus, just as a warm up piece." Shelby said and I nodded.

I quickly checked the time before I started the song. All in all I only had to make it through the song a few times before it would be time to head to class, I could do this, I just had to power through the pain.

Things were going well for a few moments until everything just turned to crap. My voice started to crack and then it just fell flat before it gave out all together.

"Rachel are you okay?" Shelby asked immediately rushing to my side and I nodded as I swallowed a couple of times trying to get my voice back.

"Yeah." I whispered and she shook her head.

"No you're not, your voice gave out." Shelby said and I sighed.

"I'm fine." I said happy that I was able to get those words out but Shelby wasn't having any of it as she went about collecting her things.

"Get your stuff Rachel I'm taking you to a doctor." Shelby said and I just shook my head but one look from Shelby told me that I was not going to be fighting her on this one.

I quickly gathered my things and then followed Shelby to the office where she signed me out and then left a message to Jennifer to let her know where we were going.

"I'm fine, you're being ridiculous." I complained as Shelby drove down the road.

"You are not fine and until we hear from a doctor I do not want to hear a peep from you."

"But I have my voice back!" I complained and Shelby just glared at me.

"Not another word Rachel Barbara!" Shelby said and I rolled my eyes and just waited for us to get to the doctor so I could prove Shelby wrong.

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

I was just hoping that I was wrong about Rachel. I mean I knew she didn't look good this morning but she assured me that she was fine, plus she looked fine this afternoon but that voice. I was just hoping that this was not something serious.

When I finally pulled into the parking lot for the doctors I was so happy that I had gotten the recommendation from Linda in the front office and that she called ahead for me. The place was packed and Rachel was less than amused by the aspect of being at a doctor's office so the less time we had to wait the better.

Rachel had finally filled out all the paper work when she was called back to be checked out. They checked Rachel's blood pressure, weight, and height before they took her back to a room where we waited for a doctor to come and see her. While we waited they had Rachel write down her symptoms and when they started as well and the name of her normal doctor. It was a few moments later that a man in his late forties walked into the room.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Thomas, you must be Rachel." He said as he took a seat in front of Rachel and she nodded. "So what seems to be the problem?" He asked and Rachel handed him the list of symptoms and he nodded. "So I'm guessing you've been told not to talk?" He asked and Rachel pointed at me.

"I'm Shelby Corcoran, Rachel's mom and vocal coach." I said and he smiled.

"Well let me check out miss Rachel and I will let you know what is going on as soon as I have confirmed my suspicions." Dr. Thomas said and I nodded while he checked out Rachel.

When he was done he sat back and looked at the both of us.

"So what is going on?" I asked and he sighed.

"Well Rachel here has laryngitis. There is nothing that I can prescribe for her but I can recommend that she continues to be on vocal rest for the rest of the week at least, as well as staying hydrated and breathing moist air. Other than that she should get plenty of rest and in about a week we can check and see how things are going-"

"What caused this?" I asked not sure why Rachel now had laryngitis when she was fine just yesterday.

"It could be a number of things but I would say that in Rachel's case it would be from the amount of vocal work that she has been doing recently. She wasn't used to that amount of vocal use, it happens from time to time." Dr. Thomas said and I sighed.

"But she will be fine?" I asked and he nodded.

"She should be just fine." He said and Rachel gave him a look.

"Should?" She asked and he laughed a little.

"Bad choice of words on my part, you will be fine." He said but I could tell that Rachel was not buying it.

I thanked the doctor and then Rachel and I headed back to the condo. I gave Rachel specific orders to change into pajamas and then meet me in the living room.

I quickly made work of moving her bed into direct sight of the television and then I brought my humidifier out of my office and got it set up in the living room next to her bed.

"What now?" Rachel asked as she walked out of the bathroom and I held a finger up to my lips.

"No talking. I have everything set up for you and I am going to pull a selection of movies for you to watch and I am going to make sure that you are in tip top shape by the end of the week-"

"What about rehearsal?" Rachel asked and I gave her a scathing look.

"Stop talking." I said and she sighed as she sat on the bed. "VA will live without rehearsal today and tomorrow I will make up for missing rehearsal." I said and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Now get comfortable because until you get the all clear from the doctor I am going to be smothering you to make sure that you are resting your voice and that you are on the way to getting better. Nod if you understand." I said and Rachel nodded as she went over and sat down on her bed.

When Rachel seemed to be settled I grabbed a notebook and a marker and then turned the television on and handed Rachel the remote.

"So I am going to give you this notebook and marker so that you can write anything that you want to say." I said and Rachel extended her hands to me to grab the supplies and I just laughed and gave them to the girl who quickly scribbled something down on the paper.

_THANK YOU! And can you please put in a movie now? I don't care what it is, I think I am just going to sleep._

I nodded and then walked over and put in a movie for Rachel before I headed into my office to catch up on some grading that I had as well as see if I could have Jesse run rehearsal today. I know that I told Rachel that I was going to cancel rehearsal but in all honesty there was no time to waste and I knew that Jesse could run a rehearsal that would be beneficial today.

I was halfway through grading my papers when my phone went off and I checked it to see that Jennifer was calling and I sighed knowing that I was about to be chewed out for not calling her as soon as Rachel got done with the doctor.

"Laryngitis." I said as I answered the phone knowing that in getting right to the point she would be more concerned about Rachel than wanting to chew me out.

"Poor baby, how did she take the news? Does she need soup or anything? Maybe I should come over and see how she is doing." Jennifer said and I sighed.

"Rachel doesn't need you to come over. At this point Rachel was told not to talk and to drink lots of fluids so you coming over would just prompt her to talk. Honestly I think she is fine. I have her in her bed watching television and just resting with my humidifier."

"Is she going to school tomorrow?" Jennifer asked and I paused for a moment.

Rachel didn't have a fever and she wasn't contagious so there was no reason for her not to go to school. On the same token being around people and not having me hovering over her all the time could tempt her to talk to people and it could delay the healing process. As her mother there was no reason for her not to go to school but as her coach she was useless to me.

"Um earth to Shel, is she going to school or not?" Jennifer asked again.

"Yes she is going to school, I just have to make sure that she understands that she cannot talk." I said and Jennifer just laughed.

"Rachel not talk? Oh yeah good luck with that one. By the way what was going on at lunch today?" Jennifer asked and I just groaned.

"Giselle and Rachel were performing a sing off, because I don't have enough to deal with without my team going out and making a mockery of what I worked so hard to build. I mean come on I made it clear that stunts like that were unacceptable and what makes it worse is that Rachel can't even talk so I can't find out how this whole thing started." I complained knowing that Jennifer understood my pet peeve.

"Why don't you ask Jesse he probably knows."

"Yeah I know but I don't understand why he didn't stop it." I said and Jennifer laughed.

"He knew that they would get in trouble yes but he also knew better than to step in between two feuding women, the kid doesn't have a death wish."

"I guess you're right. So anything else?" I asked and there was a brief pause.

"Have you talked to Mia about getting the whole custody thing all settled?" Jennifer asked and I leaned back in my chair.

"Honestly with everything that has been going on in the last few days that has been the last thing on my mind."

"Shelby-"

"I know, I know. I will take care of it by the beginning of next week."

"Until you get that worked out she can take Rachel any time she wants-"

"I know, I'll call dad later and see how to work that out okay?" I asked knowing that Jennifer was just looking out for me and Rachel.

"Yes it does. Give Rachel my love and let her know that I will be helping in keeping an eye on her tomorrow to make sure that she is silent." Jennifer said and I smiled knowing that my sister really did have my back.

"I will let her know, love you Jen."

"Love you too Shelly." Jennifer said before I hung up the phone.

I finished grading the stack of papers that I had before I walked out to the living room where Rachel was fast asleep while the movie played softly in the background. I checked the humidifier before I went to the kitchen to get some water for Rachel for when she woke up.

I knew that I wasn't the world's greatest mom by any means but I also knew how much this was killing Rachel. I hated any time that I was ever put on vocal rest and now Rachel was on vocal rest for a week, I just knew that this was going to be the week from hell.

* * *

_Surprised? Me too. I hope you enjoy this little treat and hopefully my next one will come just as quickly. Until that moment ENJOY or don't_

_-Katie_


	21. Chapter 21

**Rachel's POV:**

I'm dying, I am seriously dying. I've barely made it three days and I want to kill myself. This whole silence thing is not for me. I was not made to be quiet and rehearsals, don't even get me started.

Shelby was still making me go to rehearsals and while everyone else was running through the vocals to Bad Romance I was forced to just wear the costume and dance in the background. I was the female lead, this was degrading!

I mean like Shelby would know if I was actually singing, then again she probably would knowing her. For all I know she has video cameras inside these ridiculous costumes and she can see what each and everyone is doing.

"Stop, stop, just stop!" Shelby yells and everything comes to a halt. At this point we aren't even singing, we were just running through the counts of the dance and apparently we can't even do that right.

"You guys are letting the costumes do all the work, it's not enough to douce yourselves in gasoline you have to light yourselves on fire!" Shelby exclaimed and I have to give her credit, she knew what she was talking about. "Everyone go take a seat, let me show you what I am talking about." Shelby said and we didn't hesitate as we all exited the stage and took a seat in the audience.

Shelby of course chose to sing Funny Girl but the entire time she was singing I couldn't focus. Where I was sitting I was directly under the second level and I swore that I heard people up there. Of course being as I couldn't talk there was no way that I could tell anyone so I was just going to have to wait to confirm my suspicions on the next break whenever that may be.

To my surprise as soon as Shelby was done singing she gave us all a ten minute break and I took to the stairs to go and see who was spying or to see if all this silence had officially driven me mad.

When I reached the top of the stairs I was in complete shock as to what I found. Hiding there behind the upper railing was Quinn, Santana, and two other people who I had only seen a few times before at McKinley.

"Rachel?" Quinn gasped and I crossed my arms and smirked.

"Come on, do us a solid and don't rat on us." Santana said as I heard someone coming up the stairs behind me and I quickly motioned for them to find a better hiding place.

"Rachel are you okay?" Shelby asked as she neared the top of the stage and I spun to face her and nodded giving her a thumbs up to seal the deal.

"What are you doing up here?" She asked and I gave her a look being as there was no way that I could have answered her with this stupid vocal rest that I was on. "Stupid question, I got it. Come on Rachel I was thinking that we have five more runs in and then I am going to call rehearsal and you and I are going indulge in pizza and ice cream and you can't say no, both literally and figuratively." Shelby said with a smirk and I briefly thought about flicking her off for a second before I thought better of it.

"Come on." Shelby said as she held her hand out to me and I went with her just so that I gave my friends a chance to escape but not without casting a glance over my shoulder to let Quinn and them know that they owed me.

Shelby was true to her word and we only ran through the number a few more times before she called it a day and then we were all on our way home. She seemed really excited about us hanging out tonight which was nothing new being as she had smothered me all week with her attention and making sure that I wasn't doing anything to strain my voice. There was a part of me that wondered if she was doing this because she was my vocal coach or if she was doing this because she was my mother. Either way it was proving to be annoying.

As Shelby started rambling on about nothing for the thousandth time I quickly grabbed the white board that I had stashed in the car and I wrote a message to Shelby that I was planning on showing her at the stop light but apparently she was reading over my shoulder as I wrote.

"If that note is directed to me I highly suggest you erase it and not let me see something like that again. That actually reminds me that we do need to go over my rules that I have for you." Shelby said and let out a small growl to show my dissatisfaction to Shelby.

"Stop that, you knew that this was happening whether you liked it or not. Anyway who was spying on our rehearsal today?" Shelby asked and I turned to her in complete shock.

"Oh come on, I know you didn't just go up to the second story for fun and I saw someone's head pop up while I was performing, who was it?" She asked as I tried to find a way to not rat my friends out.

I mean was I suppose to be loyal to my team? They were spying on our rehearsal and if the rumors are true we are going up against their glee club at regionals, they were the enemy. But at the same time they were my friends and Quinn and Santana helped me through one of the hardest times of my life. On the other hand though my mother was asking me this question, not only my mother but my vocal coach. And yet she wasn't really my mother was she? At least not yet, I just felt so conflicted.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked again clearly wanting and answer and I just sighed knowing what I had to do.

I took my marker and scribbled down an answer and then showed the board to Shelby as we pulled into the condo parking lot.

"McKinley kids? Did you know any of them?" She asked and I shook my head and scribbled on the board.

_None by name, but I have seen them before._

As soon as Shelby read that she nodded and then we both headed up to the condo.

I couldn't tell if Shelby knew that I was lying but why would she think that I was. Plus I was telling a half truth, there were a few kids that I didn't know. I think one was named after a car, Chrysler I think, and then Kirk? In all honesty it wasn't a complete lie that I told Shelby. Then again it wasn't the whole truth either, but I couldn't rat on my friends completely.

As soon as we got inside Shelby headed to her room and I grabbed a change of clothes and headed off into the bathroom to freshen up and then change. This was a routine that Shelby and I were quickly falling into. It seemed like as soon as we both got home we wanted to get some alone time in before we had to awkwardly sit together and socialize. We weren't strangers anymore, which was good, but on the same token we weren't completely comfortable with each other either.

We had pretty much run out of topics to talk about within the first five minutes of us talking and since then it's been the generic question that exchange between us. We never talked about anything too personal or too deep, we were acquaintances at best.

Shelby still wasn't out of her room by the time I made it into the living room so I went ahead and turned on the television and waited for her to come and join me like normal. I was in the middle of some bridal show when Shelby came out and sat next to me but unlike the routine we had set up she reached out and turned the television off and faced me.

"So lets go over the rules." Shelby said when I gave her a disapproving look for turning off my show.

"First off I need to see your homework before you can watch TV. It's not that I don't trust you to get your homework done I just don't want to hear excuses, especially with the way your math grade was a few weeks ago. Then you have your standard no drinking, no drugs policy that every sane parent has in place with their kids."

_Curfew? _I wrote on the board knowing that we had a huge blow up over this last time.

"Yes you have a curfew. For weekdays it is set at 10 and for the weekends we can negotiate what time you have to be home. I just want to make sure that I know where you are. I don't want you getting hurt or something and me not know because I have no idea what time you should be back in the house. I mean if I tell you to be home by eleven and you aren't then at least I know at that point that I can worry. If there is no curfew then I would be a mess." Shelby said and I had to give it to her she had a point, not a point that I liked but I at least respected it enough to give in to the whole curfew thing for the moment.

"I also will not tolerate back talking and cursing, those are huge pet peeves that I have. Also no sneaking out, I will find out about it and I will make your life hell. I would also appreciate you not inviting random kids over without checking with me first. Most of the time I won't have a problem with it but I would like to know who to expect when I get home. Lets see what else, oh you will have chores and I expect you to keep your living area, eventually your room, clean. I think that about covers it."

_What about punishments? _I quickly scribbled dreading what she might say next.

"Honestly I think those will depend on what the infraction is. I'm not unreasonable and I'm not going to spank you or something like that if you accidentally curse. I do get that accidents happen. At the same time I'm not going to let you off with a warning if you sneak out of the house. I will tell you this, I am fair in the way that I punish and any punishment that I give out will be justified. Does that calm your nerves?" Shelby asked and I nodded.

In all honesty this whole rule thing was not so bad. I mean Shelby was telling me her limits and what she expected and then she told me what would happen if I didn't meet her expectations, it was really nice. I never really had anything like that before.

With my dads they were more accepting of whatever I did, they just called it me being a kid. They kind of went with the whole philosophy that kids will be kids and they get in trouble from time to time, but I was never punished more then getting a stern talking to or something like that.

With my aunt on the other hand she had rules that I only found out about when I broke them. I guess some things she just sort of expected me to know but we got into a lot of fights when she went to punish me for something that my dads were fine with me doing. I at least had to respect the fact that Shelby was giving me a list of rules so that I knew what she wanted from me and I knew what would happen if I choose not to follow what she had set up.

"So now that we have the rules all settled I have something exciting to tell you." Shelby said and I turned my attention to her wondering is this news she had would be exciting to me or if this was one of those old people things.

"So after we go and look at houses tomorrow we are going back to Dr. Thomas and he is going to see how you are doing." She said and I quickly wrote on the board.

_What does that mean?_

"Well I am going to ask and see if we can take you off of total vocal rest and just keep your vocalization to a minimum, but we have to wait and see what he thinks." Shelby said and I just grinned from ear to ear.

Just being able to hear the sound of my own voice again would be glorious. I just missed being able to talk, singing was another story, but talking again, that would be great!

"So what kind of pizza?" Shelby asked and I took my board and scribbled a note.

_How about I go to the store and get ingredients to make pizza?_

"You know how to do that?" Shelby asked and I nodded as I wrote another note.

_My dads taught me, it taste really good and its not that hard to make. Can I make it?_

"If you really want to make it then I guess that would work. I have to run an errand of my own so let me give you some money and then you can head to the store and I can do what I have to do, and maybe pick up a new movie for us to watch." Shelby said and I bit my lip for a second before picking up my board one more time.

_Maybe we could watch Funny Girl_

* * *

**Shelby's POV:**

After I gave Rachel money to go to the store I went ahead and let Mia know that I was coming over with the proper documents for her to sign. I ended up calling my dad the same night Rachel got Laryngitis and he got me the paper work I needed to gain custody of Rachel. After I had the papers I told Mia and she agreed to meet when I was available to sign the papers so that Rachel and I could move forward.

Mia seemed sad about the whole thing but she also knew that she screwed up with Rachel when she threw her out of the house. I think she was also starting to realize that I wasn't trying to take Rachel away but I was rather trying to gain something I never should have lost.

When I got to Mia's I parked my car and then made my way to the front door. I rang the doorbell and then waited a few seconds before Mia answered the door and let me inside.

"Sorry the house is a mess, Blaine got home thirty minutes ago and I didn't have time to clean up before him and his dad left-"

"It's okay." I said with a smile that she returned before she led me into the dining room where we both took a seat at the table.

"So these papers?" Mia asked and I nodded as I pulled them out and handed them to her.

I sat there while Mia skimmed the papers and then she took a pen and went like she was signing them before she hesitated and put the pen down.

"Before I sign these can I ask you a few questions?" Mia asked and I nodded knowing that I wasn't going any where until she signed those papers and I was willing to do anything at this point.

"Of course."

"How is Rachel?" She asked and I smirked.

"She's been better, she has laryngitis at the moment but we are going to the doctors again tomorrow to see if she can get off vocal rest. Honestly I don't think she minds being sick as much as she hates being silent."

"Laryngitis? That sounds bad." Mia said and I sighed.

"Well the only thing that you can really do about it is being silent, staying hydrated, and using a humidifier, all of which I've made sure she is doing. She got it by over using her voice which I blame myself for-"

"Don't, it's Rachel we are talking about. I'm sure that no matter what you have been making her sing in VA and her lessons she has been pushing herself twice as hard. So does she seem to be settling in?" Mia asked and I shrugged.

"My condo is really small but we're going to look for houses tomorrow so hopefully we can find something."

"Is she taking to you well? I know that under the circumstances you got Rachel she wasn't really happy."

"She seems more settled but she's hard to read." I said and Mia nodded.

"Since her father's deaths she has been really closed off to everyone. I think the last time I saw her open up, even a little was when she joined your glee club. You really have done a lot for her Shelby, more than I ever imagined you could."

"Why wasn't I granted custody of her when her father's passed? I know that before I gave birth to Rachel her fathers and I talked about it anything were to ever happen to them they wanted me to raise her."

"When my brother's husband died I talked to my brother about changing his will-"

"Why?" I asked not sure how I was suppose to feel but I was trying to keep my anger at bay being as I still needed Mia to sign the papers.

"I don't know why. Probably for the same reasons that I had them draw up that stupid contract. Looking back at my decisions now I can see how selfish they were."

"You're a mom Mia, imagine what it would feel like to never have been able to even hold your children when they were born. Imagine the desperation you would feel while trying to get them back. That is what all of this is about Mia, this isn't about me or you this is about Rachel, my daughter. This is about Rachel and I trying to regain something that we lost because of contracts and selfishness." I said and Mia wiped away a tear from her eye.

"I'm sorry for the part that I had in this whole thing Shelby, I really am. If I could take it all back I would you have to understand that. I mean if someone did that to me with Cooper and Blaine I would have died, even if I did start out with the notion of giving them up fully."

"I was just a kid when I signed the contract, I didn't understand what I was doing with bringing a child into this world and I really didn't understand the unconditional love that I would feel as soon as I heard that heart beat."

"It would be as if Rachel did it." Mia said and I nodded.

"Look I know that we have our differences Mia but Rachel does love you and your boys and I don't want our issues to come between that. I know that you said Rachel was welcome in your home anytime I think that it would be good if we set a day that Rachel can come and eat dinner with you guys-"

"I think that is a great idea, and I think that maybe you should join us." Mia said as she picked up her pen and signed the papers that needed to be signed and then passed them to me.

"Thank you." I said as I got up and Mia smiled.

"Take care of her." She said and I nodded.

"I will, always." I said as she started to walk me out.

"Any plans for tonight?" Mia asked and I nodded.

"Rachel is making pizza for us, her choice, I offered to buy stuff and then we are going to watch Funny Girl." I said and Mia smirked.

"Well if your plans for tonight are any indication I think that Rachel is taking to you just fine." Mia said and I gave her a confused look.

"It's just pizza and a movie-"

"No it was their pizza and their movie. She hasn't indulged in either of those since my brother-in-law passed." Mia said and suddenly I really wanted to get back to the condo.

"Thank you Mia, for everything but I need to be going." I said and she nodded.

"Have a good night Shelby." Mia said and I quickly made my way to my car.

When I got back to the condo Rachel's car was parked outside and I quickly put the papers away and then headed up to see what she was doing.

Rachel was in the kitchen rolling out the dough as I walked in and I quickly washed my hands and then went to see if I could help her out.

"Can I assist?" I asked and she shook her head. "And why not?" I asked and she sighed as she wiped her hands and then scribbled something down on a piece of paper.

_Because as bad as a cook as I am I've heard horror stories about you from Jennifer. So I would like to make this without setting the condo on fire!_

"It was one time." I complained and Rachel just smiled and pointed to the living room.

"Fine but I'm getting a glass of wine first." I said and she just shrugged.

It was about fifteen minutes later that Rachel came over and sat next to me on the couch.

"Done already?" I asked and she shook her head and pointed to the oven.

"Okay well do you want to start the movie now or do you want to wait for the pizza?" I asked and she shrugged.

"Not sure what that means but I am going to put the movie on and I hope to God you put a timer on or something because that was the mistake that I made when the fire happened." I said and I watched as Rachel rolled her eyes with a huge smile on her face.

As soon as I put the movie on I went back over to the couch and I sat down a little aways from Rachel. It was about ten minutes later that the timer went off and Rachel jumped up and ran to go get the pizza. It was a few minutes later that Rachel returned with two plates and some napkins and handed one to me.

I gave the pizza a minute to cool off but once it was cooled and I took a bite I could honestly say that this was the best pizza I had ever tasted.

"This is really good." I said and Rachel gave me a thumbs up and then we both turned our attention back to the movie.

It was after the pizza and about halfway through the movie that Rachel fell asleep while lying her head in my lap. We never got to the ice cream and there were no real words that passed between Rachel and I tonight that were worth while but there was no one on this earth that I loved more than Rachel at this moment.

I had made a lot of mistakes in my life and most of them had to do with Rachel but if she was into this then so was I. We were going to find the perfect home for us to start over in and we were going to mold a mother daughter relationship that worked for us. It might not be the traditional relationship and to some people it could even look like it was dysfunctional but it was going to be ours and we were going to find that perfect place.

As Rachel slept I gently took my hand and brushed her hair out of her face before I bent down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. Things were finally looking up.

* * *

_So this is just a sweet little chapter before things start to get more intense in the next few chapters. I'm trying to get these chapters out sooner than I have been and I think that I am doing a pretty good job! Anyways let me know what you think, what you want to see, anything at all, who knows maybe a suggestion left may turn into a great idea that flourishes into this story..._

_-Katie_


	22. Chapter 22

**Shelby's POV:**

It was a little after eight in the morning when I was woken up by someone shifting on my lap. It took only seconds after I opened my eyes to realize that I had fallen asleep on the couch with Rachel curled up comfortably in my lap.

"Ugh my neck." I complained as I raised my head from the back of the couch and I looked down at Rachel who was looking up at me with her big brown doe eyes and a wide grin on her face.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked as I dropped my feet causing Rachel to be shifted from her position and to send a glare my way.

"Come on go get ready. I'm going to get dressed and then I will make breakfast." I said as I stood up, dumping Rachel off of my lap and onto the floor.

I stretched as I stood up and then made my way into my room to get ready for the day. We were meeting to look at houses at ten so that gave Rachel and I plenty of time to shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast before we had to leave. I was just happy to be getting into a warm shower after having all that stiffness in my neck from that damn couch. It took a couple of minutes but after a while I was able to get the crick out of my neck and I could focus on washing my hair.

After my shower I wrapped my hair up into towel and then dried off and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. When I was done I dried my hair and then threw it up into a ponytail before I headed into the kitchen and started on breakfast.

I might not have been the best cook in the world but I knew how to make breakfast. It was weird, I could make french toast like no ones business, but I could not make grilled cheese to save my life.

I had just finished cooking when Rachel walked into the kitchen in a pair of red jeans and a black v-neck shirt. I had to admit I was looking forward to Rachel being able to talk again. It was true that we had gotten closer over the last week but if she could only talk imagine the possibilities.

"Here is french toast and some fruit." I said as I handed Rachel her breakfast.

When we finished breakfast Rachel did the dishes while I went and and got everything that I needed for today. By the time I made my way back out to the kitchen Rachel was sitting there waiting for me to be ready.

"Shall we get going?" I asked and Rachel gave me a quick nod before she hopped up from where she was sitting and headed towards the door.

"Grab a jacket." I said and Rachel groaned as she grabbed a coat from the closet and then we made our way down to the car.

It was a quick drive to the first house and I could tell that Rachel was impressed by what she was seeing. Rachel and I got out of the car and walked up to the front porch where Michelle was waiting.

"Rachel this is Michelle Coleman our realtor, Michelle this is my daughter Rachel." I said introducing the pair to each other.

"It's nice to meet you Rachel." Michelle said as she extended her hand which Rachel shook with a shy smile.

I didn't pay too much attention to what Michelle was saying about the house as we took the tour. In all honesty I was paying attention to Rachel and how she was responding to the house. If Rachel liked the house then I knew that we would have a contender but if she didn't like the house there was no way that I was going to choose that house and have to live with her telling me how much she hates it every time she gets the chance.

Rachel was not the easiest person to read, however, she did have a few tells. When she really didn't like something Rachel quickly put on a show face but if she truly liked something that was when you would see a genuine smile. The difference was only slight but that difference meant the world.

Just from watching Rachel's reaction to seeing the first floor of the house I could tell that this was not the house that we were going to be living in anytime soon. The carpet was disgusting and it smelt like wet dog, there was no way that this was where we were going to end up and Rachel and I agreed on that.

From that house we went to a house that was a little farther out of town but the house was tiny and Rachel and I were not thrilled by that aspect. I mean granted it was bigger than the condo that we were in now but we wanted space and this house was not going to cut it, if I was going to spend the money it had to be worth it.

I could tell as soon as we stepped into the third house that we were home. The location was perfect, it was close to the school and Jennifer's house and the outside of the home was gorgeous. A white picket fence lined the yard and the driveway led to the three car garage that would fit mine and Rachel's car easily with a little space left over for storage.

The inside of the house was great as well. There was a fully finished basement that would work well as my office and piano room meaning that the entire first floor could be used as family space instead of having to divide it into different areas. The second story also had plenty of rooms and I could really see Rachel and I being happy here.

"So what do you think?" Michelle asked and I looked over at Rachel who was begging me with my eyes to say that this was the place.

"Well I think that this might be it. I love this place." I said and Rachel's face lit up as she bounced a little with excitement.

"Should we put an offer in then?" Michelle asked and I nodded.

"Of course, this place is home." I said and Michelle nodded.

"Then I will draw the paper work up and I will let you know what is going on." Michelle said as we all headed into the kitchen so I could sign what I needed to sign before Rachel and I had to head to her doctor's appointment and Michelle had to file the paperwork.

When everything was all done Michelle headed to go make the offer while Rachel and I headed to her appointment.

"So are you happy with the house?" I asked and Rachel nodded wildly.

It was the most that she could do to show her excitement at the moment and it was going to have to do until the doctor checked her out but I was happy to see that I was right about her loving the house.

When we got to the doctor's office we were taken back to be seen as soon as we got there. That was one good thing about making this appointment in advance. It was a few minutes after we were waiting in our private room that Dr. Thomas came back and started to check Rachel out to see how she was doing.

"So you have been on complete vocal rest?" He asked and Rachel nodded as he rubbed her neck and then went to go look down her throat.

"Any cheating mom?" He asked me and I smiled.

"There were a few slip ups the first night but no she was pretty good about it." I said and he nodded as he sat back in his seat.

"Well everything looks a lot better than the last time I saw Rachel so I feel comfortable saying that you can talk again Rachel but I would hold off on the singing for a little while longer and I wouldn't over do it on the talking either. But you should be all clear." Dr. Thomas said and Rachel cautiously opened and closed her mouth a few times before she looked at me as if to get the okay from me.

"Well are you going to talk?" I asked trying to prod her into speaking and she smiled a little and then turned back to the doctor.

"I can really talk?" She asked and he nodded with a smile. "I can talk again!" Rachel said turning to me with a smile that I couldn't help but return.

"What do you say?" I asked and she laughed a little.

"Thank you!" She said before hugging the unsuspecting doctor.

"You're more than welcome Rachel, but remember take it easy." He said and Rachel nodded not really caring about anything other than the sound of her own voice as she took out her phone and made a phone call for the first time in days.

"Thank you doctor, as you can see Rachel is thrilled." I said and he smiled.

"Well it seems like the past few days have been hard on her." He joked and I nodded.

"Believe me, they weren't just hard on her." I said and he smiled.

"Just make sure she takes it easy and be sure to ease her back into singing but not for a few more days." He said and I nodded knowing that this was throwing a wrench into my plans for Regionals but as long as Rachel was healthy I really didn't care.

"Of course as her mother and vocal coach I will be sure to take it easy on her, the last thing I want is for her to damage her voice." I said and he nodded in understanding.

"Well then you both are free to go, and call me if you have any questions or concerns." He said as he got up from his chair.

"I will, and thank you again."

"It's my pleasure. Bye Rachel." He said as he exited the room while I collected my things and started to usher Rachel out of the doctor's office and out to the car.

I was starting to regret taking Rachel to the doctor's office. Since she got the all clear to start talking again she hadn't stopped. By the time we got to Jennifer's house for lunch she had made four different phone calls to people and I was going to kill the child.

I then decided that there was only one thing to do. I quickly reached over and plucked the phone out of Rachel's hands and put it where she couldn't reach it, inside of my purse.

"HEY!" Rachel screeched and I gave her a stern look.

"You are suppose to be taking it easy on your voice and you have made multiple phone calls since we have left the doctors. Plus we are at Jennifer's house and I would like you to talk to us, not your friends." I said as I opened my door to get out and Rachel angrily stormed out of the car and pouted as she waited for me by the front door.

I walked past Rachel and into my sister's house. There were times that I knock to be let into her house and there are other times, like today, where she knows that I am coming over and I just walk into her house being as I know the door is unlocked.

"Jennifer we're here!" I said as I took off my coat and hung it up and encouraged Rachel to do the same.

"Great, Bryan is just about done with lunch." Jennifer said as she walked to the entry way where Rachel and I were standing and things were tense for a brief moment before Rachel walked past the two of us and headed into the kitchen.

"So she can't talk?" Jennifer asked and I shook my head.

"Oh no she can talk. She has demonstrated very well that she can talk but I took her phone away from her right when we got here so she is in a pretty bad mood at the moment." I said and Jennifer nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"It probably doesn't help that she is still mad at me about this whole thing." Jennifer said and I sighed.

"It's only been a week-"

"Yes and she is taking to you well but she is raging against me." Jennifer complained and I had to sympathize with her.

It was not that long ago that I was in Jennifer's shoes and I was envious of the relationship that she had with my daughter and now that the tables were turned I was not so sure that I liked it. Jennifer just looked so miserable and I knew that this was killing Rachel as well but honestly there was nothing that I could do for these two. If they wanted to work it out they were going to have to make that choice on their own and just work it out.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

"Hey Uncle Bryan." I said as I took a seat at the bar where he was finishing up our meals.

"You speak!" He said and I just laughed.

"I can now. What are we having for lunch?" I asked leaning over and stealing a piece of steamed broccoli from the plate.

"Well as long as you don't eat it all before I am finished we are having vegetable fired rice." He said and I smiled.

"That sounds delicious. So what is with this whole lunch thing? I mean I wasn't even told that we were coming over here." I said and Bryan smiled.

"Jen and I invited you guys over because we have some news to tell you and your mother and what better way to tell people news than over food?" He said and I shrugged being as the man had a point.

"So what kind of news?" I asked as Jennifer and Shelby walked into the room.

"Don't you dare tell her." Jennifer warned and he sighed.

"Sorry kid I can't tell you." Bryan said and I started to pout.

"Please?" I asked pulling out my full fledged puppy dog eyes but Bryan just shook his head.

"No can do kiddo, your aunt scares me and I have to live with her." He joked and I relented.

"Alright. Jennifer may I speak with you?" I asked and my aunt's face seemed to light up when I addressed her.

"Yes, of course." She said and I slid off the stool and started to follow Jennifer outside when Shelby caught my arm.

"No screaming." Shelby whispered and I rolled my eyes.

"I just want to talk to her." I said as I pulled away and headed towards the door that Jennifer was holding.

When we got outside I wasn't sure what to say. I mean I know that I was the one who wanted to talk to her but still I wasn't sure how to approach the whole thing so I just closed my eyes and let my heart do the talking.

"It really hurt me to find out that you were the one who told Shelby to file those papers. I trusted you-"

"I just wanted what was best for you." Jennifer said and I nodded.

"I know but at the same time you should have told me. I shouldn't of had to find out as I was being kicked out of my aunts house, the only place I had to live."

"I didn't know that would happen, I thought that at the worst this would go to court and you would get a say in where you would live. I never imagined this possibility Rachel you have to believe that." Jennifer said and I chewed my bottom lip.

"I hate being mad at you." I said and Jennifer walked over and pulled me into a huge hug.

"I hate it when you are mad at me Rachel, but sometimes you aren't going to like what I do and I hope that you understand that no matter what I still love you." She said and I nodded.

"I know, I have never doubted that for a moment." I said and she kissed the top of my head.

"Good, but don't put me through the ringer like this ever again, I don't think I can take it." Jennifer said and I pulled away.

"You brought this on your self." I said and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh whatever, get inside so we can eat." Jennifer said as she pushed me towards the door playfully and I just smiled as I walked back into the house.

I knew that I had let her off easily but one look at her sad face and I melted. Plus I knew all too well that life was too short to hold grudges, it just wasn't worth it sometimes. There was also the fact that she really did just want what was best for me and I couldn't blame her for that.

When we got back inside the table was set for lunch and I was beyond excited to be eating some home cooked food. Granted the pizza I made last night wasn't that bad but I didn't have to cook this and it wasn't from some greasy delivery place.

After everyone was done eating Jennifer quickly cleared the table before she sat down with a sigh.

"So what's up?" Shelby asked and Jennifer started to play with the hem of her shirt.

"Well I don't really know how to say this, well we don't know how to say this-"

"You see Jen and I are, why don't you tell them Jen?" Bryan asked and Jennifer nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"We, I can't-"

"Will someone just tell us already?" I finally said and Shelby lightly shoved me as she shot me a glare.

"I'm pregnant!" Jennifer finally squeaked out and Shelby and I were both shocked into silence.

"What do you guys think?" Bryan asked after the silence settled into the room and I looked over to see Shelby smiling from ear to ear.

"I'm so happy for you guys." Shelby finally said before she got up and Jennifer and her embraced before they started to ramble on and on about her pregnancy stuff.

"How are you kid?" Bryan asked and I just shrugged.

"Happy I guess." I said and he sighed.

"You don't seem that happy." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"I am happy, believe me." I said and he nodded as Jennifer and Shelby stopped talking and things went silent for a moment before Jennifer started to speak up again.

"So now that you know my news, I have a favor to ask." Jennifer said as she nervously shifted from side to side.

"What is it?" Shelby asked and Jennifer took a deep breath.

"Can you be there when Bryan and I tell mom and dad tonight?" She asked and I looked at Shelby to see what she was going to say.

In all honesty I was excited for Bryan and Jennifer, I was, but I was not ready for some huge family gathering. I wasn't even really a part of this family so why would I want to get myself caught up in this whole mess? This was their thing and as much as I loved Jennifer and Bryan I was not prepared for what they were asking, but of course Shelby didn't realize that.

"Of course! I mean I was suppose to meet with the director of the McKinley glee club but I can handle that over the phone."

"Shel if you have plans-"

"No I want to be there for you. Plus this way mom and dad get to meet Rachel, it's a win win."

"But you can't just cancel on someone." Jennifer said trying to be sensible but sense was not something Shelby had at the moment.

"His kids snuck into my rehearsal, he is lucky I am not having his team removed from the competition. He can deal with me just calling him about this." Shelby said and I rolled my eyes with how serious she was taking this whole thing.

It would be one thing if they snuck in right before Regionals to steal our ideas but they didn't. They snuck in because, well I actually don't really know why, but it didn't matter that much. All they witnessed was us performing a flawed piece to counts that half of the team can't even count to four and cannot tell their left from their right. Seriously Shelby was blowing this whole thing out of proportion.

"Wait McKinley? Rachel don't you have friends in the glee club at McKinley?" Jennifer asked and I nodded as I held back the notion of strangling my aunt at the moment.

"You have friends IN the glee club?" Shelby asked and I nodded again being as there was no point in lying being as my aunt had ratted me out.

"Yeah but like I told you, I didn't know the kids that I saw at rehearsal yesterday." I said trying to make this as believable as possible.

"Then why cover for them?" Shelby asked and I shrugged.

"Charity? Plus it's not like they saw anything important."

"That's not the point. What if they came in when we were doing a run through for Regionals? They are our competition Rachel!"

"They're not my competition they are my friends!" I countered and Shelby smirked.

"So you admit that your friends were there?" Shelby asked and I shook my head, silently cursing myself in my head.

"That's not what I am saying at all."

"No that's exactly what you just said."

"It's not what I meant, I didn't know the kids who snuck in yesterday. I've seen them before but they weren't my friends." I said and Shelby nodded.

"Then you won't care if I get names of who snuck in from their director?" Shelby asked and I knew I was caught but I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that she had me beat.

"I don't care." I said and she formed her lips into a tight line as she grabbed her phone and walked into the other room with Jennifer right behind her.

"Damn kid, you have guts." Bryan said after the room had cleared and I just shrugged.

"She doesn't scare me, plus I'm not lying." I said and he nodded.

"Of course she doesn't scare you. Who in their right mind would be scared by Shelby Corcoran?" He joked and I smiled.

"Can I borrow your phone?" I asked and he nodded as he handed me his cell and I quickly dialed Jesse's number so that he could give me an excuse to get out of this house and away from the craziness that was going to be going on.

"Hello?" Jesse asked in a questioning tone, not sure of who it was because of the number I was calling from.

"It's Rachel look I can't say much but I need plans for tonight. I'm at my aunt Jennifer's house, be creative, you have ten minutes." I said before I hung up the phone and then walked back into the kitchen to hand my uncle his phone.

"That was quick." He said and I shrugged.

"Didn't have a lot to say." I said as Jennifer walked back into the room and gave me a look.

"Why do you do that to her?" Jennifer asked as she sat down on Bryan's lap.

"Do what? I was telling the truth and she doesn't believe me, I didn't do anything."

"You know that VA is her life Rachel, she takes this stuff really seriously." Jennifer said and I sighed.

"I know she does, trust me I know that her entire life revolves around VA."

"I didn't mean it that way, she cares a lot about you too Rachel." Jennifer said but I wasn't so sure she was trying to convince me as much as she was trying to convince herself.

"So I don't think I will be able to stay tonight." I said and Jennifer gave me a look.

"And why not?" Bryan asked and I sighed.

"Well when I asked to borrow your phone I was calling Jesse to see if I could get out of this dinner he invited me to but he said it was too late being as his mother already started cooking. I haven't really met his parents yet and he said his mom would freak out if I backed out after saying yes. She has these stupid rules, it's weird. Anyway when I called him he told me that he was on his way to pick me up so I couldn't back out." I said and Jennifer and Bryan exchanged a look before turning back to me.

"Does your mother know?" Jennifer asked and I shook my head.

"No I was going to tell her about it after we left but then you asked about tonight and-"

"Go, we will deal with Shelby when she gets done with her phone conversation." Jennifer said and I smiled before I got up and wrapped Jennifer in a huge hug.

"Thank you." I said before I let go and then went to wait by the window for Jesse to show up.

I knew that until Jesse was here there was still a chance that I wouldn't be able to go out. Shelby could get off the phone at any moment and she would know that I was lying to her and she would know that I was planning to leave without permission, Jesse needed to show up and he needed to do it soon.

As soon as I saw his Range Rover outside I quickly grabbed my coat and dashed out the door and just in the knick of time.

* * *

_Here is another chapter. I meant to post it sooner but life got a little busy. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and just know that there is a lot more to come!_

_-Katie_


	23. Chapter 23

**Shelby's POV:**

As I hung up the phone from talking to Will Schuester, I couldn't believe it, Rachel had blatantly lied to me. She didn't even bat an eye as the lies poured out of her mouth. Worse yet, I couldn't even tell that she was lying to me, and I think that was what scared me the most. I was her mother, shouldn't I have known that she was lying? Wasn't that something that all mothers knew? Was this another sign to me that I was not cut out for this whole mothering thing? I was just furious but at the moment I wasn't sure if I was more mad about this whole situation with the kids sneaking into rehearsal or about Rachel lying to me about who it was.

"Where is she?" I questioned as I walked into the kitchen where Bryan and Jennifer were talking.

"Are you alright Shelby?" Jennifer asked and I nodded.

I was completely fine, a little mad, but I was fine. Granted my own child flat out lied to me and probably could care less about it, but I was totally fine, why wouldn't I be?

"Yes, now where is Rachel?" I asked looking around being as I was not able to see any sign of the girl at all.

"What happened?" Jennifer asked and I sighed knowing that I was going to have fill them in if I was going to get any sort of answer out of them as to where my daughter was.

"Rachel's friends were two of the four kids that snuck in. That kid lied to me." I said and Jennifer and Bryan exchanged a look before turning back to me leaving me concerned about there whereabouts of my missing child.

"Where is Rachel?" I asked and Jennifer and Bryan both avoided making any sort of eye contact with me. "I'm waiting." I said and Jennifer started to play with the hem of her shirt.

"Oh she's...you know, around." Jennifer said and I glared at Bryan knowing that he would be the easiest to crack in this situation.

"Bryan, where is Rachel, and do not lie to me." I said using my coach Corcoran voice that was known to make grown men cry.

"She-"

"BRYAN!" Jennifer snapped causing him to silence before answering my question causing me to send a glare to Jennifer.

"Someone better answer my question in the next thirty seconds or I am going to lose it and no body wants to see me lose it." I said and Jennifer sighed realizing I was going to get my way no matter what.

"She went to Jesse's." Jennifer finally said and I could just feel my jaw tighten.

"When?" It was a rather simple question but it was the only thing that I could ask at the moment being as my brain could not wrap itself around the fact that she had left after lying to me.

"When you were on the phone." Bryan said and I rolled my eyes being I was not an idiot.

"I figured that much, why didn't you stop her?" I asked and Jennifer suddenly had a guilty look on her face.

"Well I sort of said it was okay for her to leave." Jennifer said and I just glared for what was seeming like the hundredth time today.

"Why the hell would you tell her that?" I barked, feeling a little bad as my little sister recoiled from my harshness.

"She...Jesse..."

"Jesse's mom invited Rachel to dinner when they talked earlier and Rachel tried to get out of it but we told her it wasn't necessary and that she could go ahead and go." Bryan said as he wrapped a supportive arm around my sister.

"That's not your decision to make, I'm her mother, she should have asked me." I said trying to control my temper being as that was not going to get me anywhere right now.

"But you were on the phone-"

"You should have told her to wait. I know you don't understand this, I barely understand it as it is, but I'm her mom Jen and Bry. She is to ask me for permission to do things when I am around and if I am busy then she has to wait for me to answer for her when I am no longer busy. Rachel and I are still getting used to each other and that is going to be harder than it already is if she can keep undermining me and getting her way. She needs to learn that my word is the only word that matters to her."

"Look Shelby we're sorry, we didn't think it through-"

"Oh I know you didn't think it through, that much is certain." I snapped as I reached up to rub my temples being as this whole situation was starting to give me a throbbing headache.

"So what now?" Bryan asked and I sighed.

"Nothing, I need to call and let her know that she needs to be at the condo no later than nine and if she is even a moment late her ass is mine." I raged and Jennifer rolled her eyes.

"Then call away." She remarked and I didn't bother with giving her a look as I grabbed my cell and quickly called Rachel's phone, only to hear it ring from my purse.

"You took her phone." Jennifer said as she leaned against the counter.

"I guess I need to call Jesse then." I said quickly recovering from the parenting blunder that I had made in front of my hypercritical sister.

I called Jesse only to have him have his phone off and I was beyond furious as I set my phone down and looked at my sibling and her husband who seemed to be enjoying my struggles of getting a hold of my defiant daughter.

"Let me guess he didn't answer?" Bryan asked and I shook my head.

"No, his phone was off." I said as I placed my phone down on the counter and then cradled my throbbing head in my hands.

"Would you like me to go get her?" Bryan asked and I looked up at him.

"I don't even know what to do." I said and Jennifer quickly made her way over to me and wrapped me in a hug.

"Shel, you're doing the best that you can." She said trying to placate me but I shook my head knowing better.

"Am I? Because I feel like at every turn I am letting Rachel walk all over me or I am just failing her all together and I haven't even had her for a week. I mean she got sick within just a few days of her being in my care."

"That wasn't your fault-"

"Yes it was, it happened from over use of her vocal chords-"

"But-"

"Just stop trying to make this seem like I am a good mother because I am not. Mom was a good mother, you are going to be a good mother, I just wasn't cut out to be a mom." I said and Jennifer was about to correct me when the doorbell rang and I sighed knowing that my mother was going to eat me alive for not stepping up to the plate with Rachel.

Jennifer left to get the door while I tried my best to compose myself as Bryan paced for a moment before turning to me.

"You aren't a bad mom Shelby, and I know that it might not mean much coming from me but you have great mom material. You have always taken care of Jennifer before I even knew you both. Things with Rachel are going to take time and I apologize for Jennifer and my interference today. You made a valid point with all of that, but I think that letting her get away with everything today is the wrong choice. I really think you should go get her." Bryan said and I just smiled as I walked over and hugged him.

"Thank you and I just might do that but only after everything with my parents is taken care of." I said with a wink as I pulled away from Bryan and headed towards the hall where Jennifer was still greeting my parents while they argued over where my dad parked the car.

"There's my Shelly!" My dad said as I walked into view and I smiled as walked over and gave him a hug.

"I have those papers for you and they are signed. Oh and I put in the papers for a house and I'm hoping to hear back soon." I said and my dad just squeezed me tighter in our hug.

"This is all so exciting." He said and I just smiled as he released me and then I gave my mom a quick hug before I moved to the side to let Bryan have his turn.

"So isn't there someone missing?" My mom asked and Jennifer cast me a sorry glance as I went to answer the question.

"Rachel went to her boyfriends house for dinner and I will be leaving this occasion early to go get her." I said and my parents both seemed to deflate a little and I could tell that they were both excited at the thought of meeting their grandchild.

"Oh." My mom said and all I could do was nod being as I was the one who ruined their hopes.

"So do you guys want to head into the living room?" Jennifer asked and our parents nodded as we all headed into the other room.

I didn't even make it to the living room before my phone started ringing and I rushed off to answer it in hopes that Jesse had turned on his phone and saw that I had called. As I answered the phone I was slightly disappointed to see that it was only Michelle calling and not my little run away.

"Hello?" I asked keeping an eye on what was going on in the living room as I talked.

"Shelby I have some good news." Michelle said and I could feel my heart rate pick up.

Was this really happening? Was something in my life continuing to move forward as other parts revolted and continued to spiral out of control?

"You do?" I asked not wanting to seem too excited at the prospect of owning my own house.

"Well I have talked to the other party and they have accepted your offer and are ready to move forward with the process of you owning the house. It should be yours by the end of the week." Michelle said and I couldn't help but let out a little excited yelp of joy as my dad joined me in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" He whispered and I held up a finger to let him know it would be a minute before I could talk.

"Well thank you Michelle let me know when and where to meet you and just thank you." I said not really finding the words to express the gratitude I was feeling at the moment.

"You're welcome Shelby and I cannot wait until you are in your new home, now go celebrate!" Michelle said and I let out a small laugh.

"I will." I said as I hung up and turned to my dad with a huge smile on my face.

"So?" He asked and I jumped up and down a little.

"I got the house!" I said and he grinned as he walked over and pulled me into a hug.

"Congratulations Shelly, you're finally putting down some roots." He said and I nodded.

"Yeah I am."

"What is going on in here?" My mother asked as she was followed into the kitchen by Jen and Bryan.

"Oh my realtor called and the house I put an offer in on, I got it!" I said and everyone smiled.

"That is wonderful, you have to show us the place!" My mother chided and I nodded.

"I will but you have to let Rachel and I get settled first, I mean we haven't even started moving or anything yet. Oh my god we have all these things to pack, where do I even get a moving van? Do you have any boxes that I can borrow? How am I suppose to move my piano?" I said and my parents just laughed.

"You don't have to do it alone Shelby, your father and I will start talking to different moving companies and we can get you a list of names to choose from. You and Rachel might be the only people who are moving into the new house but that doesn't mean that you and Rachel are the only people who can take care of the details." My mother said and I nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, but enough about the house." I said and Jennifer smirked.

"I know that Jennifer, Shelby, and I just ate lunch but what would everyone like for dinner?" Bryan asked and our dad smirked.

"I think that everyone has had enough of your cooking, I think it is time that I take this kitchen for a spin." My dad said and I just watched as Bryan sadly was pushed out of his domain and into the living room where my sister and mother were going to hold him captive.

"So how are my girls?" My mom asked as we were all seated in the living room.

"Fine, Rachel lied to Shelby today." Jennifer said and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"It was yesterday actually." I corrected and my mom just smiled.

"So I'm guessing the honeymoon period is over." She said and I laughed.

"There was no honeymoon period with Rachel, are you kidding me? That kid has been trying me from the moment she came to live with me and all I am trying to do is to keep the peace between us."

"That would be your problem. Shelby you are her mother not her friend-"

"I know that, trust me I know that."

"Then don't be so afraid to ripple the water Shelby, you're her mother make a splash, make her listen to you."

"Okay I got it." I snapped and my mother gave me a hard look.

"So what do you think Tom is doing in the kitchen?" Bryan asked and it was funny how Jennifer, my mother, and I all turned to him and glared. "Alright then I guess I will just go and see what he is doing and if he needs some help." Bryan said as he got up and left the three of us alone in the living room.

"So what did she lie to you about?" Mom asked and I sighed.

"It was nothing really it was just something little but it still happened and thats the part that got to me." I said and my mom nodded.

"Well she's a teenager and that is something that they do kid. You did it, your sister did it, and your brother still does it. Regardless have you at least set up rules that she is to follow?" My mom asked and I nodded.

"Yes, of course I set up rules but that was its own challenge."

"How was it a challenge?" My mom asked and I blushed a little knowing that my mom was going to nail me for what I was about to tell her.

"Well when I first went about setting up rules I sort of made a behavior contract that I was going to negotiate the terms of with Rachel."

"Oh I bet that went over well." My mom teased and I smirked.

"It didn't last long at all. It was then that I realized I had to step up and let Rachel know who was in charge, but that is taking some time and it is a lot harder then I imagined." I said and my mom smiled as she threw an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a side hug.

"Welcome to motherhood, just remember that was the easy part, the hard part is enforcing the rules you made." She said as Jennifer laughed nervously.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"So when will your father and I get to meet this lovely Rachel?" My mom asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know, I really wanted her to be here tonight but she had other plans. We need to do something soon though." I said and my mother agreed.

"Yes we do, your father and I are going insane with waiting." My mom said and I nodded.

"I know, I know but will it be okay if I just show you pictures for now?" I asked and my mom sighed.

"I guess that will have to do for now." My mom said and I grabbed my phone and scrolled through the pictures that I had on my phone from the past competition.

"Do you have any photos of her not performing or like of the two of you or something?" My mom asked and I shook my head.

"No, not yet-"

"Get on it. I want real pictures Shelby and while these are nice, I want photos I can hang on the wall." My mom said and I rolled my eyes.

"It's been a week mom chill we will get to the photo stage." I said as I put my phone away and sat back on the couch.

"She's my only grandchild at the moment sorry for wanting to brag." My mom said and I rolled my eyes and then shot a knowing look at Jennifer who was really wanting to change the subject.

After the whole grandchild thing Jennifer took to talking about something while I just sat there on the couch and waited for dinner to be ready so we could eat Jen could make her announcement and I could leave and go get Rachel and talk to her about the lying. Honestly all this waiting was going to kill me.

We had to wait about an hour and a half for dinner to be ready and then another half an hour to set the table and get everything ready so we could eat. By the time we finished dinner and doing the dishes it was pushing ten and I was dying to get out of the house. I loved my family a lot but there was only so much I could take and there was only so much time I could wait to talk to Rachel.

"So it's been a great night but I really have to be going." I said as I went to get up to try and hint to Jennifer that she needed to tell our parents or she was on her own.

"Well before Shelby leaves, Bryan and I need to tell you all something." Jennifer said and she had captured the interest of my parents.

"Yes?" My mom asked and Jennifer took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant." She said and almost instantaneously my parents were up and giving her hugs while I made my way towards the exit.

"Good night." I said going unnoticed as I slipped out of the house and headed to my car.

Now that the whole dinner was over it was time to go get my little convict and bring her home. It was really going to be a long night.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

"I see headlights." Jesse said as we sat on the couch by the front window and I sighed.

"Then I should be going." I said as I started to get up only to have Jesse pull my arm and pull me towards him for a kiss.

"Maybe it's not her." Jesse said and I shook my head as I looked out the window and saw the car idling in the driveway.

"It's her and I really have to go." I said and Jesse sighed as I pulled away and grabbed my things before I started to head to the door with Jesse not too far behind me.

"Hey Rach-" Jesse said as I was half way out of the door and I turned to face him.

"Yeah?" I asked seeing Shelby checking her phone, about to get out of the car to come get me.

"I love you." Jesse said and I was frozen.

We had been dating for a while but this was the first time that one of us had said those three words. I wasn't sure what to do, I mean I really liked Jesse but I wasn't sure if I loved him. I wasn't prepared for this at all so I did what any sane person would do, I smiled and made up an excuse.

"I have to go, I'll see you soon." I said as I pecked him on the cheek and then quickly scurried off to Shelby's car.

The doors were locked to the car so I had to knock on the window to get Shelby to unlock the door for me. When I finally got in the car Shelby didn't say a word as she backed out of Jesse's driveway and headed towards the condo.

It was a tense ride to say the least. There was no music that was played and there was no conversation to be had, there was only silence and the open road. I had never been happier to arrive in the parking lot of that tiny little condo.

"When you get inside get ready for bed and then meet me on the couch, you have ten minutes." Shelby said as she turned off the car and then went to get out and I sighed as I followed her up to the condo and then went about getting ready for bed.

I took a little under ten minutes to get ready and I made my way out to the couch fearing the worst as I took a seat a little bit away from Shelby. There was a brief moment of silence before I just couldn't take it anymore and I decided to finally say something.

"I know that I lied to you-"

"Why?" Shelby asked and I shrugged.

"They're my friends. I know that I am suppose to be loyal to Vocal Adrenaline but those girls were there when I was going through the hardest time in my life." I said and Shelby took a deep breath.

"I don't like that you lied to me and I really don't like that you left without my permission."

"But I asked Jennifer-"

"She isn't your mom." Shelby said and I had to keep myself from making some smart ass comment about how she wasn't really being much of a mom to me either.

"I know." I said knowing that agreeing with her was the only way to come out alive.

"Then why did you do it?" Shelby asked and I just couldn't help the tears that came out of my eyes. "Rachel, what's up?" Shelby asked and I was starting to feel like a caged animal.

I quickly pulled knees into my chest and rested my chin on my knees. I was not okay at the moment and I wasn't sure how to explain what I was feeling to Shelby.

"I just couldn't handle staying there." I whispered and Shelby cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes.

"Why not? Did it have to do with the whole pregnancy thing?" Shelby asked and I shook my head as the tears flowed over my cheeks. "Then what was it?" Shelby asked and I bit my bottom lip hoping that Shelby would just leave this all alone and punish me for what I did. "Rachel?" Shelby questioned and I clenched my eyes shut.

"I can't." I choked out and I could hear her sigh.

"Rachel I can't help you if I don't know what is going on." Shelby said and I just sat there saying nothing.

"Fine then, you're grounded for the week and you are not hanging out with people this weekend for the whole lying thing. Instead you will be helping me set up the new house and shopping for everything we need, alright?" Shelby asked and I nodded not quite understanding what she had just said.

"That's fine." I mumbled and Shelby let out a sigh.

"I wish you would just tell me what was going on." Shelby said and I shook my head.

"I just want to go to bed."

"I need your electronics first." Shelby said and I pointed to where my laptop and Ipod were so she could get them being as she already had my phone.

Shelby got up and gathered my electronics before she carried them off to her room and I buried my face in my legs to conceal my tears. It was a few minutes later that I was pulled onto Shelby's lap and she lightly stroked my hair as she placed gentle kisses on the top of my head as I buried my face in her shoulder.

There was nothing said for a good while. Shelby just held me in her arms and let me cry until I was finished. Even when I was done crying Shelby continued to hold me until I pulled away from her and she just let me go.

"Are you going to tell me what was bothering you?" Shelby asked as we sat a little bit away from each other now.

"I don't want to." I said and Shelby nodded.

"I understand that but I would like you to tell me." Shelby said and I shook my head as I got up and moved towards my bed.

"I'm not ready, I'm sorry." I said and Shelby looked a little disappointed as she sat there.

"You know my parents really wanted to meet you tonight." Shelby said and I nodded being as I'm sure they wanted to meet me.

They were probably beyond thrilled with the aspect of what I was. I was their grandchild after all, but I was damaged goods. They would take one look at me and walk the other direction, Shelby wasn't sure about me when we first met, it would only be natural for her parents to act the same way.

"They were thinking of maybe helping us move." Shelby said and I shook my head.

"No, we don't need help." I quickly snapped and Shelby gave me a weird look.

"Rachel does all of this have to do with my parents?" She asked and I shook my head again as tears started to fall.

"Oh Rachel." Shelby said as she got up and pulled me into a hug.

"I-I'm just not ready to meet them." I sobbed and Shelby ran her fingers through my hair as she held me tightly.

"Is that why you went to Jesse's tonight?" She asked and I nodded. "Why didn't you just tell me?" Shelby asked and I shrugged.

"You just seemed so happy that they were coming over, I wasn't sure how to tell you." I said and she held me a little away from her.

"Rachel you need to realize that you can tell me when something makes you uncomfortable and I won't put you in that situation. I am never going to make you do something that you really don't want to do, I promise you that." Shelby said and I nodded seeing that she was really meaning what she was saying to me.

"I just really want to go to bed now." I said and Shelby gave me another hug before she let me go and I got into bed. "So are we really moving?" I asked when I was neatly under the covers and Shelby nodded with a smile.

"Yes we really got the house and we will be moving in by the end of the week if everything goes according to plan."

"That's really exciting." I said as I rested my head on my pillow with a yawn.

"It is but you need to get some sleep, we can talk more in the morning."

"Do I get to decorate my own room?" I asked and Shelby nodded.

"Yes you do, but you need sleep-"

"Can we get a puppy? I always wanted a puppy but my dad said no-"

"Rachel-"

"It's okay if we can't but maybe we could get another pet, like a bunny or something."

"Maybe but-"

"You know Jesse said he loved me tonight and I didn't say it back, is that bad?" I mumbled as my eyes fluttered closed and I felt my bed dip down as my hair was pushed out of my face as I heard Shelby's sweet voice fill the air as I drifted off to sleep.

"_Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes_

_And save these questions for another day_

_I think I know what you've been asking me_

_I think you know what I've been trying to say..."_

* * *

**_A/n: So here is another chapter. I just finished writing the next one and I cannot wait to post it!_**

**_-Katie_**


	24. Chapter 24

**Shelby's POV:**

I wasn't sure if Rachel was going to remember much of what she said before she fell asleep last night but I sort of wanted to talk to her about the whole Jesse thing. It was okay for her to not be ready to say she loved Jesse, she just needed to know that before she felt pressured into saying something she might not mean, or worse doing something she wasn't ready for.

I was debating how to go about talking to her as Rachel walked into the kitchen and got herself a glass of water.

"So being as I am grounded what are we doing today?" Rachel asked and I smirked seeing that Rachel was not thrilled with the punishment that she was enduring, meaning that I was doing something right.

"I have some errands to run so you have the choice of coming with me, or you can start packing up some things." I said knowing that we were going to have to get a jump on packing very soon.

"Those are my only options?" Rachel whined and I nodded.

"Yes my dear, those are your only options." I said as I took my coffee and headed into my bedroom to get ready to go out.

"Fine I'll go with you!" Rachel yelled after me and I smiled being as I figured she would come with me.

I got dressed in jeans and a long sleeve shirt and then headed out to the living room where I had to wait for Rachel to finish getting dressed. Once that was all done Rachel and I headed down to the car and then headed off to Michelle's office so I could finish the final paperwork on the house.

Rachel wanted to wait in the car while I went to go fill out the paperwork but I insisted on her coming inside being as I wanted to keep an eye on that child. As unhappy as Rachel was being forced into the office she was happy when the final papers were signed and the house was officially ours. Or she was just happy that we were leaving Michelle's office and we were one errand closer to getting back to the house.

"So what is next?" Rachel asked as she placed her feet up on the dash.

"Put your feet down and we have to go get some more packing materials like boxes and tape so we can jump into packing when we get back to the condo." I said as Rachel left her feet up on the dash and I reached over and smacked her legs lightly so she would put them down.

"Lighten up will you?" Rachel asked as she lowered her feet and I sent her a quick scathing look as I pulled up to a red light.

"Need I remind you that I am the adult and you are the child? I do not need to lighten up." I stated and Rachel nodded.

"I got it, but just so you know it won't be too much longer before I'm an adult as well." Rachel said feeling like she was proving something to me and I just rolled my eyes.

"Is that suppose to scare me?" I asked and Rachel shook her head.

"Nope, just stating a fact." She said as the car fell into silence.

When we got to our next stop we quickly gathered the supplies that we needed to start packing and then we were back in the car heading towards the house. Rachel was bored out of her mind and I was right there behind her. I had to admit that I wish there was something more fun that we could be doing but we had to get this done and Rachel was being punished.

"So where should we start?" I asked Rachel as we placed the packing supplies on the counter.

"Does it matter? Everything needs to be packed anyway so any room should do." She said and I rolled my eyes at this kids logic.

"How about we start in the piano room being as we don't use that room a lot?" I asked and Rachel shrugged as she grabbed the tape and a box and headed off to go get started.

When I joined Rachel she had already started a box and I quickly joined her and in no time we had most of the room packed.

"I'm tired of packing." Rachel said as she laid back and placed a piece of bubble wrap over her face.

"We don't have that much more to do-"

"In this room. I'm hungry." Rachel whined and I rolled my eyes as I got up.

"Okay I'll order us some lunch and you keep packing." I said and Rachel shot up.

"No, no, no, this isn't even my stuff. How is this fair?" Rachel complained.

"You're the one who wants food-"

"Because you haven't fed me, seriously woman, and you call yourself my mother?" Rachel sassed and I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

"And I'm going to get food so that I can feed you." I said trying to be reasonable with Rachel.

"But then I'm stuck doing all the work." Rachel said as she stomped her foot and I could tell that there was going to be no reasoning with this kid.

"How about this, you come with me we will both eat and then we will both come back and finish up in here?" I asked and Rachel sighed.

"I'm guessing that there are no other options?" Rachel asked and I shook my head.

"Nope kid, you can stay here or come with me but that is all you can do."

"Fine." Rachel said as she pouted and followed me into the kitchen.

For some reason Rachel seemed to be in a real mood today and I was over it. I wasn't sure if it was because she was mad about the punishment thing or if it was something else but too much more and I was going to snap. I understood that I was her mother and I had to be the bigger person but she was riding on my last nerve and there wasn't even somewhere I could send her so we could have time apart.

"So what are you ordering this time?" Rachel asked as she leaned on the bar counter and I walked over to the fridge and opened it up.

"How about we just have left overs?" I asked and Rachel sighed.

"Can't you just learn to cook?" Rachel sassed and I closed the fridge and turned to look at her.

"Can't you lose this attitude you've seemed to pick up in the past twelve hours?" I retorted and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I'll have the left over pizza from the other night." Rachel said completely avoiding my question and I opened the fridge and handed the pizza to Rachel while I grabbed something else for myself.

Rachel and I were eating in silence until Rachel started to bring up the packing thing again.

"I still don't understand why I have to help you pack. None of this stuff is mine and I think that it is a little unfair that I have to be the one to pack it up."

"You aren't doing it on your own-"

"But I shouldn't have to do it at all." Rachel whined and I took one last bite of my food before I put my fork down and looked at Rachel.

"Knock. It. Off." I said and Rachel shook her head, challenging me again.

"It's not fair." She complained and I stood up.

"You know what isn't fair, you packing the entire room by yourself, that is unfair and that is now what you are going to do." I said and Rachel slammed her fist down in protest.

"I most certainly am not." She said and I nodded.

"Yes you are." I said as I turned and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked chasing after me and I turned so that I was face to face with her.

"I am going out so that I don't snap and do something I'll regret and you are going to finish packing that room while I am gone, and it better be done before I get back. Is that clear?" I asked and Rachel nodded as she spoke.

"Yes ma'am." Rachel said and I turned and walked out of the condo stopping right outside the door to take a deep breath.

I knew that I was being harsh on Rachel and that I should have stayed and helped being as it was my stuff but I was going to lose it with that girl. She was being a little brat and that was not something that I was going to tolerate.

After taking a moment to catch my breath I headed down to my car and then got inside and started driving. I just needed time away from Rachel and I was so happy that we were getting a bigger house soon so that I could just send her to her room when something like this happened instead of having to leave myself. I was starting to see why my mom sent me and my siblings to our rooms so often, when you were a mother you never really got a break from it all and it was worse being a single parent. At least when my mom was over dealing with me she could just pass the parenting torch over to my dad for a few hours, I on the other hand was alone in this wide world of parenting and I was just calling anything a success that led to Rachel making it one more day.

I drove for a while before I pulled into the parking lot of a coffee shop and got out. I figured that I could stop and get some coffee before I headed back to the condo to apologize for leaving Rachel and help her finish packing.

I knew that I wasn't really in the wrong for leaving her but I also knew that it didn't sit right with me that I had left her like that. I lost my cool and that was not something that I was proud of, but don't get me wrong that kid was apologizing to me first.

I briskly walked up to the counter and ordered a coffee and a muffin and then went and sat down at a table to wait for my order. It was a few seconds later that a man with curly hair cautiously walked up to my table.

"I'm sorry to intrude but are you Shelby Corcoran?" He asked and I nodded not sure of what this stranger wanted. "Again I'm sorry but I'm Will Schuester, we talked yesterday." He said and I gave him a half smile.

"I thought your voice sounded familiar." I said not wanting him to think that I had no idea who he was.

"I'm am so sorry about the kids that snuck into your rehearsal but I can only thank you for letting me deal with it instead of you getting us kicked out of the regionals competition. I know that my kids really appreciate it, they all have worked so hard to get to regionals and if they lost that chance they would have been devastated-" Will said as he rambled on and on about his group of misfits like I cared.

It wasn't that it wasn't great that his team had to overcome so many obstacles in order to get to regionals but I knew that they were no competition to us. Yes it was remarkable that even when their set list leaked at sectionals they were able to still pull off a first place win, but lets face it they went up against a school that was deaf and another group of misfit girls. They had no competition and they thought that it was remarkable that they won? They could have gone out on that stage and done a four part chorale of mary had a little lamb with a little bit of choreography and pulled out a win. It was a good ego boost but the kids were nothing to my team.

"CORCORAN?" The barista called and I raised my hand in order to gather my order so I could leave.

"Well it was nice to meet you in person Will, but I really need to be getting home to my daughter." I said being thankful that I had Rachel as an excuse to leave.

"Daughter? From what I've heard you don't have children." He said and I let out a sigh.

"Well you can't always trust what you hear." I said as I gathered my coffee and muffin.

"Wait but in an interview you did last year you said you didn't have any kids other than those on your team." He said and I was starting to get annoyed with this man very quickly.

"It was a recent development. I really need to be going." I said trying to side step Will but he was not letting me shake him that easily.

"Did you adopt or something?" He asked and I knew that there was no way to get rid of this man until I told him the truth.

"Rachel Berry is my daughter, I'm sure you heard what happened to her dads and when that happened she came to live with me. Now I really have to go." I said with an edge and he paused for a moment.

"I remember Rachel, she was quite the handful in class. She tortured the other kids to no end, it was actually quite a relief when she left. I wish you the best of luck with that little tyrant." Will said before he turned and walked away and I was left fuming.

Who was that man to talk about my child like that? I mean yes Rachel was not the best kid I had ever met but she was no tyrant. Rachel had been through a lot and I'm sure if a teacher tried to talk to her about what she was going through instead of ignore the problem she wouldn't have tormented other kids. I bet she only tormented other kids because she wanted someone else to know the pain she was going through. Granted it was wrong but at the same time she was hurting.

I was still lost in my angry thoughts when a blonde woman came and stood in front of me.

"I'm sorry to intrude but I sort of overheard your conversation with Will Schuester. I'm Judy Fabray, Quinn Fabray's mother." She said and I felt like I should know this woman being as she seemed to know who I was, but I had no idea who she was.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure that is suppose to mean something to me but I have no idea what." I said and Judy let out a little laugh before she guided us to a table.

"Quinn is one of Rachel's friends from McKinley, she was also one of the kids who snuck into your rehearsal, which I apologize for." Judy said and I gave me a small smile.

"Thank you for that but it was harmless. I don't think I've properly introduced myself, I'm Shelby Corcoran, Rachel's mom."

"It's nice to officially meet you. I promise I won't take much of your time being as I know you are eager to get back to Rachel, but you really need to know that Rachel isn't the monster that Schuester made her out to be."

"That man is a monstrosity to teaching, I can't believe he said that about Rachel." I complained and Judy nodded.

"That was uncalled for, I agree. How are things with you and Rachel going?" Judy asked and I sighed. I don't know why but for some reason I felt like I could open up to this woman and be honest about the Rachel situation.

"I'm not going to lie, its been rough lately. I don't know but it seems like I make a little bit of progress with Rachel and then just as quickly as it was made she closes off to me and pushes me away more than before."

"Well she has been through a lot." Judy said and I nodded.

"I understand that but I don't understand why she won't let me in."

"No one knows that, she doesn't let anyone in to that mind of hers."

"What about her friends?" I asked and Judy shook her head.

"She is totally different around them, with them it's like nothing bad ever happened to her and she is just a kid but with adults its the complete opposite."

"So she hasn't opened up to you either I take it?" I asked and Judy shook her head and then paused for a moment before she took a pen out of her purse and wrote something on a napkin and handed it to me.

"If you want to know about Rachel's past email Sue Sylvester. She is the cheerleading coach at McKinley and she is the one who Rachel turned to when every other teacher in that school turned against her. If anyone is to know anything about Rachel it would be her. Just don't be put off by her demeanor, she loves the kids she works with to death she just has a funny way of showing it." Judy said and I smiled being as I could relate to this Sue Sylvester.

"Thank you for this, I just really want to know more about Rachel and while I would like her to be the one to tell me-"

"She's a teenager, yeah I've been there. I'm also going to write down my cell phone number so if you have any questions you can call. I understand that this whole mothering thing is new to you so if you need any advice or just someone to talk to just give me a call." Judy said as she scribbled down her number on the napkin.

"Thank you for everything Judy." I said and she nodded.

"If I was in your shoes I would hope that someone would do the same for me. Now get home to that amazing daughter of yours and tell her that Quinn and the girls are dying to talk to her." Judy said and I nodded.

"I'll have her call them as soon as she isn't grounded." I said as I got up and Judy smirked.

"Well by then Quinn and Santana should be off of their groundings as well." Judy said as she got up and extended her hand to me. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"You too and thank you." I said as I once again gathered my things and headed out to my car.

Somehow I never noticed that I had made it to Lima on my drive earlier. I guess in the rage that I was in it took a little longer than normal to clear my head. At least with the amount of time that I was gone it gave Rachel plenty of time to finish packing up the room so there would be nothing left for us to fight about when I got back.

I found myself more relaxed on the drive back and I even stopped by the store and gathered ingredients to make salads for dinner so Rachel couldn't complain about take out.

That was another thing that I was going to have to work on and soon. When it was just me I didn't have to worry too much about my cooking. I was coming home late and I was just eating enough to survive but now that I had someone to feed I was going to have to step up my game in the cooking department. I was going to have to call Bryan and see if I could squeeze in some cooking lessons with him which was another thing to add to my plate but if that was what Rachel wanted, then it was going to happen.

When I walked through the front door Rachel was not in the piano room where I anticipated her being. I was completely surprised to find that the room was packed and every box was labeled and stacked neatly against the wall.

"Rachel?" I called as I walked father into the condo to see her sitting on the floor of the living room.

"What are you up to?" I asked as I placed the bags with the food on the couch and made my way over to where Rachel was packing away my DVDs into a box.

"Well I finished in the piano room a while ago so I figured that I might as well get started in the living room and being as I am grounded for the rest of the week I figured there wouldn't be much of a problem with packing them." Rachel said as she put a few more DVDs into the box.

"Why don't you take a break for a little bit so we can talk." I said and Rachel nodded as she got up and followed me into the kitchen where I started to put away the things that I had bought.

"Look Shelby I just want to say that I am sorry for the way I was acting earlier. I know that there is really no excuse for my behavior and I shouldn't have complained so much about having to help pack. I had a lot of people who helped me pack when I needed help and they never complained, I was just being selfish." Rachel said and I gave her a small smile, happy that she apologized to me but now it was my turn.

"I appreciate the apology Rachel and I'm sorry that I walked out on you. That was wrong for me to do. I never should have left you here to pack by yourself, especially since it is my stuff." I said and Rachel nodded.

"But I deserved it-"

"No you didn't, you do not deserve to be left like that ever, and I promise it won't happen again."

"But you were upset-"

"And hopefully the next time that happens I will be able to handle it better. Look Rachel we are still getting used to this whole thing. You are in no ways used to having a mother around and I am still struggling to find my parenting style but one day kid, one day we'll get there."

"How will we know when we get there?" Rachel asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know but it's something that we are going to have to discover together." I said as Rachel came over and I gave her a hug.

"So what's for dinner?" Rachel asked as she looked up at me and I looked down at her with a smirk.

"Well I stopped by the store while I was out and I picked up ingredients to make a salad, but not just any old salad. No not for us my lady, we have the ingredients to make a summer salad, complete with strawberries among other things." I said and Rachel smiled.

"Really?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes really. I may not be the best cook but there are certain things that I can make." I said as I walked over to the fridge and pulled the ingredients out and Rachel jumped up and down a little.

"I'm so excited!" Rachel said and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah well you may be a little less excited when I say that you have to help me make the salad." I teased and Rachel gave me a look before she went and got two bowls.

"Funny." Rachel said as she placed the bowls on the counter.

Rachel and I worked in silence for a while and when our dinner was finally ready we took a seat at the bar and I turned to Rachel figuring that this would be the best time to bring up the whole Jesse thing.

"So do you remember anything about last night?" I asked Rachel as I stabbed a few pieces of lettuce with my fork and Rachel nodded as she continued to eat.

"I remember that we talked about a lot of things and I also remember that you sung to me last night. You have a really nice voice by the way." Rachel said and I smiled at her comment.

"Thanks, do you remember telling me about Jesse?" I asked and Rachel stopped eating and shook her head.

"No I don't remember that, what did I tell you?" Rachel asked.

"You know you don't have to say anything you aren't ready to-"

"Okay I really don't want to talk about this." Rachel said as she turned back to her salad.

"Rachel there is no reason for you to rush into anything-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it."

"I know but-"

"No buts, this conversation is over. Things between Jesse and me are just between us and I don't need your opinions or advice okay?" Rachel asked and I sighed.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked and Rachel shrugged.

"You can tell me whatever you want as long as its not about my life with Jesse." Rachel said and I set my fork down as I started my story.

"You know I was about your age when something similar happened to me. There was a boy named Jeremy and we had been dating for two months when he first said that he loved me. I wasn't sure what to do, we barely knew one another but I said it back anyway. It was a week later that we rushed into sleeping with one another and that is my biggest regret in life. I was never in love with him and I gave him something that I could never get back, I know that this whole thing between you and Jesse is none of my business, but I don't want what I had for you. You deserve so much more Rachel and regardless of what you decide to do with this whole Jesse thing, don't say something you don't mean and never feel like you have to do something because its expected of you, it could lead to one of the biggest regrets of your life." I said as I picked my fork back up and started to eat.

We finished our dinners in silence until Rachel looked over at me and sighed.

"It's not that I don't love him." She said as she looked over at me.

"Then why didn't you say it back?" I asked and she sighed.

"I wanted to but I'm scared." Rachel said and I pushed her hair out of her face.

"What are you scared of baby?" I asked and Rachel sighed.

"The same thing I am always afraid of when I get close to someone. That they will end up leaving me as soon as I get too close." Rachel said and I shook my head.

"Rachel that isn't true-"

"It just feels that way. Thank you for talking to me, usually when I push people away they don't push back."

"You don't have to worry about that from me kid, I'm always here to push you." I said as Rachel smirked.

"I can believe it, so should we finish packing the living room?" Rachel asked and I shrugged.

"We could do that, or we can eat some ice cream and watch television. But don't think of this as not being grounded because I have like ten episodes of Say Yes To The Dress that I need to catch up on and you better believe that is what we are going to be watching."

"Can we pack while doing those two things?" Rachel asked and I gave her a funny look.

"Why are you so anxious to pack all of a sudden?" I asked and Rachel smiled.

"Because the faster we get it done the faster we can move and then unpack and then its all over." Rachel said and I rolled my eyes.

"I should have figured that you would have reasoning like that." I said and Rachel just smiled a little bit as I got up and went to get some ice cream for the both of us.

We were seated on the floor with our ice cream as Rachel turned to me and I put my ice cream to the side so that she knew she had my full attention.

"Shelby?"

"Yes Rachel?"

"I was thinking that maybe I could possibly take a few boxes of my things from my house back in Lima and move them into the new house. I mean I don't have to if there isn't enough room-"

"Rachel of course you can move your stuff in, it's your house too." I said and Rachel gave me a small smile.

"I just wanted to ask." Rachel said as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

"Well I'm glad that you asked but if it's for something like that you never have to ask Rachel. I want you to feel comfortable in this new house which is why you and I are going shopping to pick out new furniture and paint and everything. This is a new chapter in our lives and I want you to have as much say as you want." I said and Rachel gave me a huge smile.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me kid, this isn't something that you should even have to think about. Now hand me some DVDs so we can finish this box." I said and Rachel smiled as she passed me a stack of movies.

Maybe there wasn't going to be a need to email Sue Sylvester after all.

* * *

_A/n: I really meant to post this sooner but life got in the way. It happens from time to time._

_-Katie_


	25. Chapter 25

**Rachel's POV:**

All I had to do this week was to avoid Jesse, I mean I could have talked to him about this whole 'I love you' situation but at the moment I just wanted to get through this week. At the end of the week I would be able to talk to Quinn and Santana, they would know what to do. I appreciated everything that Shelby was trying to tell me but what did she know? She was my age a million years ago and just because something terrible happened to her didn't mean that the same thing would happen to me.

Avoiding Jesse in the morning was easier than it was to avoid him through out the day but even that was easier than when it came down to having to avoid him during vocal tech. We were trapped in a small room with fifteen other kids and a teacher, it was only a matter of time before he brought up the whole situation from last night.

"So can anyone tell me why it is important to have good singing posture?" Shelby asked and no one raised their hand, probably out of fear of being wrong. For some reason Shelby had this way of making someone feel like complete crap if they answered anything wrong and after the first few times everyone stopped answering her questions all together.

"Rach, we need to talk." Jesse whispered and I nodded to appease him but honestly there was no way in hell that I was going to talk to him if I could avoid it. But I wasn't going to let him know that.

"Jesse since you seem to have something to say, why don't you answer my question." Shelby said and Jesse sighed.

"It's important to have good singing posture because it frees up the air column and allows singing to become easier." Jesse said and Shelby nodded as she continued on with her lecture.

Time seemed to drag on during vocal tech and when it was finally done I tried to leave as quickly as I could but it seemed like Shelby had other plans for me.

"Rachel a word." Shelby said as I was about to leave and I sighed knowing that Jesse was just going to be waiting for me outside of the door when I got done with this conversation.

"Yes Ms. Corcoran?" I asked being as there were still a few students leaving the classroom and I did not want to be disrespectful and call her Shelby in front of other kids.

"Ms. Holiday is waiting for you in my office." She said and I starred at her dumbfounded. I had VA rehearsal in ten minutes, there was no way that I could fit in a study session now.

"But-"

"No buts, you aren't attending VA rehearsal this week. You are studying for the mid term that is coming up in your math class while everyone else rehearses choreography. You will learn anything we go over in rehearsal during your lunch lessons being as you can't sing again this week."

"So the entire time that VA is rehearsing I have to be studying? That is like math over load, I will die if I have to do that." I complained and Shelby smirked.

"You aren't going to be doing it the whole time. After the first two hours Dakota Stanley is coming in to work with VA so I am going to grab you and we are going to go shopping for the new house and the continue packing and begin the process of moving." Shelby said and I rolled my eyes.

"I can't believe you are letting that troll work with VA again."

"Well the only reason that _troll_ is working with VA again is because you won't be there. He is a great choreographer Rachel, and to be the best you have to have the best." Shelby said and I shrugged.

"I think if you coached a group that really wanted it and put their heart and soul into it you could go all the way. The only problem with that would be is that most of the kids in your program are soulless automatons." I joked and Shelby gave me a look before she smirked.

"Go, Ms. Holiday is waiting." Shelby said and I gave her a little smile before I headed into her office for two hours of torture.

After an hour and a half of math I was completely numb and Ms. Holiday could tell. Of course it wasn't that hard to tell when the person you were suppose to be teaching was starring at the clock and tapping their pencil constantly.

"I don't see why you are being tutored, you understand this information." Ms. Holiday said and I sighed.

"I know but this is what happens when you stop focusing in class and you stop doing your homework. Apparently because I failed on my own accord I now have to suffer through tutoring until I can prove that I don't need it."

"That sucks. Maybe we can do something fun with all this math stuff, what do you think?" Ms. Holiday asked and I shrugged.

"I don't think that there is a way to make this math fun, it's just boring and I don't need to be tutored which makes it worse."

"Well if you think that then you shouldn't have done so poorly the first part of the semester." Shelby said as she walked into her office. "Thank you Ms. Holiday, we will see you tomorrow." Shelby said and Ms. Holiday nodded as she gathered her stuff and left Shelby and I alone.

"I really don't need the tutoring." I said and Shelby shrugged.

"Your grades earlier this semester didn't prove that to me. Get your stuff together and lets get going." Shelby said and I sighed as I packed up my math work and waited for Shelby to do that same with her things.

Once we were both packed up we headed out to Shelby's car so that we could leave. I wasn't sure what exactly she planned for us to do but I was just glad that I was not doing math anymore.

"So you've been avoiding Jesse today?" Shelby asked and I gave her a weird look.

"No, how do you even know, not that I have been or anything." I said and she smirked.

"You know that you are a really bad liar."

"Oh really because I lied to your face last week and you didn't seem to notice." I bit seeing that I might have said the wrong thing as Shelby's grip on the steering wheel tightened so her knuckles turned white.

"And I thought you learned your lesson to not lie to me." Shelby snapped back and I sighed.

"I just don't know what to say to Jesse. I know how I feel but I'm not quite sure so I have been avoiding him. Can we just not talk about this? I'm not really in the mood to talk about Jesse at the moment."

"So we need to buy furniture but I think that the first thing we should do is to pick out paint colors. Michelle sent over pictures of all the rooms and I think that if we can get most of that done today I can talk to the painters and get everything done by the time we move in on Friday." Shelby said and I was just grateful that she had decided to change the topic.

"Are we picking out paint colors for all the rooms?" I asked and she shrugged.

"I want to get most of the rooms done today but I guess if we don't get to every room the world isn't going to end, why?"

"I just don't think that I can make the commitment to a color until I have lived in the room for at least a day. Though that's not to say that I can't find a color and fall in love with it today." I rambled and Shelby smiled.

"Like I said it wouldn't be the end of the world or anything." Shelby said as the car fell into silence before Shelby started talking again. "So I've been thinking that maybe you would like to spend some time at your aunt's house, you know like once a week or something." Shelby said as she looked over at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Isn't your sister seeing enough of me as it is?" I joked and Shelby laughed and then shook her head.

"Well my sister would like to see you more but that wasn't the aunt that I was talking about." Shelby said and I felt my heart drop a little.

"She doesn't want to see me." I said as I looked out the window trying to not let the fact that my own family wanted nothing to do with me get me down.

"Well I talked to her the other day-"

"You what?"

"I had to get the custody papers signed by her and while I was there we talked about you maybe going over there for dinner once a week." Shelby said and I was confused about what was going on.

"You talked to my aunt Mia? Like actually talked to her, not yelled, not anything else, but talked?" I asked and Shelby nodded.

"Yes we talked, and she even invited me over for dinners as well. You've lost enough family as it is Rachel, I can't stand to see you lose anymore. And look if you are more comfortable going alone to your aunt's house I understand that-"

"Thank you." I said cutting Shelby off and she looked at me and smiled.

"What for?" Shelby asked and I rolled my eyes.

This woman had just gone and given me the biggest gift that anyone had ever given me and she wanted to know why I was thanking her?

"For putting me ahead of yourself." I said as we pulled into the parking lot of the paint store.

"What?" Shelby asked confused and I realized that I was going to have to spell this whole thing out to her.

"I know that you and my aunt Mia don't get along so I can only imagine how you feel having to share your time with me with her. Just thank you for not taking away another part of my family. I might not be that close with my aunt but I would never want to lose her." I said as a single tear rolled down my face and Shelby leaned over and wiped it away.

"I would never ask you to choose between her or me Rachel, that isn't fair. I know that you don't have a lot of options of where to live and that was my fault but being as I can't really help that situation I might as well let you have other options open when it comes to being able to see your family. I don't want to get in the way of any connections you have left with your dads."

"So I guess we should go look at paint colors before I start bawling." I joked as I took off my seatbelt and Shelby let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, I would hate for the sales associates to think that I was being mean to you which was why you started to cry." Shelby joked as we both got out of the car.

"Shelby?" I asked and she stopped and gave me her full attention.

"Yes Rachel?"

"Was Dakota coming in the only reason why you left?" I asked and Shelby shook her head.

"No. He was just the only person I could get to cover for me so you and I could go out during the afternoons. I mean at least VA is having a useful rehearsal unlike when I leave a student in charge. Why are you asking?" Shelby questioned and I shrugged.

"I was just wondering why you would let that incompetent man anywhere near Vocal Adrenaline after what happened last time." I teased and Shelby rolled her eyes as she pushed me into the store.

"You only say that because he made fun of your nose." She teased.

"Oh, you mean the nose that I inherited from you. You know that in essence he was making fun of your nose." I sassed back.

"Oh whatever!" She said as we walked over to the rack of paint color choices and I smirked.

Things were going to take time with Shelby but I could tell that things were getting better. She was willing to take things slow and even more than that, she put me ahead of everything including Vocal Adrenaline and herself. Yes things were finally getting better.

* * *

**Shelby's ****POV:**

"So what do you think of this color for my room?" I asked Rachel as I held up a color that looked appealing to me.

"Really? Purple?" She asked and I sighed as I put the paint swatch down and looked at it again.

"What is so wrong with purple?"

"Nothing, it's you just use that color for everything. I get that it is your favorite color, I do, but do you really want to wake up to a purple room everyday?" Rachel asked and I thought for a minute before I nodded.

"You know what, yes I do want to wake up every morning to a purple room, in fact I want to wake up every morning to a room painted this color purple." I said as I added the purple swatch to the others that we had chosen for other rooms in the house.

"Well like they say, you can lead a horse to water-" Rachel teased and I just shook my head.

"Have you decided if you are going to pick out a color for your room today or are you going to wait?" I asked and she held up a green color.

"Done. What else do we have to do?" Rachel asked and I shrugged.

"Go home, call the painters, pack, eat dinner. You know the usual stuff."

"Yes because packing and calling painters are normal activities." Rachel said and I nodded.

"It's going to be normal for our lives for the rest of the week, maybe longer."

"Yeah I guess. So do I get to pick out new bedding for my room or do I have to keep what you have?" Rachel asked.

"Of course you get new things for your room. The only thing you won't get new is a new mattress being as I just bought the one you are using. You can get a whole new bed frame and bed set if you want."

"Really? Can I get a new headboard? There was one that I saw in a magazine a few months ago that I love but I didn't really need it at my aunt's house." Rachel said and I nodded.

"We can look at it, I won't rule it out."

"But that doesn't mean we will get it." Rachel said defeated and I shook my head.

"I never said that we weren't going to get it I just said I won't rule it out. You never know you could find something else that you might want more than that head board."

"I won't." Rachel said and I just smiled knowing that this girl was as hardheaded as I was.

When we got to the condo Rachel went ahead and started on another box in the living room while I called the painters and arranged for them to pick up the paint that we had chosen this afternoon and go ahead and get started on painting all the rooms.

"Shelby what's this?" Rachel asked as she walked in with a box that had been long forgotten among the clutter in my condo.

"That would be your baby box." I said and Rachel gave me a strange look as she took the lid off the box and looked inside.

"But you barely knew me when I was a baby." Rachel said and I nodded as I took the box from her and set it on the table so we could go through it together.

"I didn't know you for that long but from the short time you were with me I picked up a few things, and then I have other things from when I was pregnant with you that your fathers didn't have." I said as I pulled out the scrapbook that Jennifer had surprised me with after Rachel was born.

"So this scrapbook has pictures of me in it?" Rachel asked as she opened to the first page and saw the hospital cover that had her tiny footprints stamped on it.

"You have my footprints?" She asked and I nodded.

"Your fathers didn't want them being as they were going to make gold cast of your feet or something like that so I asked the nurse if I could have them."

"This is really cool." Rachel said as she flipped through the pages and I just smiled as I watched my daughter look at the book I practically lived with for the first two years of her life.

"You can keep it if you want." I said and Rachel looked up at me.

"But it's yours." She said and I shrugged.

"And now it's yours. I mean the entire book is about you so why shouldn't you keep it?"

"But these are all the memories that you have with me." She said and I shook my head in disagreement.

"No those aren't the only memories that I have of you and I don't need that book to remember those memories. Plus you and I are making new memories Rachel and that is all I need."

"I don't know what to say. My dads didn't have any of these pictures and the sonograms were all altered being as they had your name on them. This is a missing piece of my life, thank you Shelby." Rachel said as she closed the book and clutched it to her chest as she got up and walked out of the kitchen and I went through the rest of the contents in the box.

There was a blanket that Rachel was wrapped in at the hospital before her dads had them wrap her in the pink silk blanket they had purchased. There were also the hospital bands that we wore until they had new ones printed for Rachel without my name on it. And then there was the sign that they put on her crib that said baby Corcoran before that was reprinted as well.

"So are you going to help me pack or are you just going to take a walk through memory lane all night?" Rachel joked and I gave her a look as I started to repack the box.

"Alright, I'm coming." I said as I put the box with the rest of the packed things and Rachel and I went about packed up more of the room.

It was around seven when Rachel went ahead and ordered something for us for dinner. I had been talking to Bryan about me taking cooking lessons and we were going to start as soon as I could find some free time, but until then it was all take out and left overs for us.

"So are you even going to tell me what kind of food you ordered?" I asked and Rachel shook her head.

"Nope, I got to pick so it's going to be a secret." Rachel said as she settled down onto the floor and went back to packing one of the last boxes we had in this room.

"Three more boxes should do it." I said and Rachel nodded.

"It should, although I don't get why we didn't start in the kitchen, it is the one room in the house that we just don't use." Rachel teased.

"Hey I make one mean breakfast in that kitchen." I said defending myself which led to Rachel laughing.

"And that is about all you can do."

"Oh and you can do so much more?" I asked and Rachel gave me a look.

"I made pizza which was dinner. Dinner is totally better than breakfast."

"But breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Plus you can only make that one thing, from what I've heard your cooking is as disastrous as mine."

"What? You had the pizza I made."

"And what else can you cook?" I asked and Rachel was about to answer when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Rachel said as she got up to run to the door when I caught her pant leg and pulled her back down.

"I think I'll get it being as I am the one who has to pay." I said as I hopped up and grabbed my wallet and headed towards the door as the person started to knock again.

"I'm going to have to tip big being as they brought the food so fast." I joked and I heard Rachel laugh a little as I opened the door to find Jesse, not the delivery man.

"St. James, what are you doing here?" I asked seeing that he was still wearing his VA outfit meaning that he had come straight from rehearsal.

"I need to talk to Rachel." He said and I stepped outside and shut the door behind me.

"She's grounded so I can't allow that." I said and he nodded.

"I know that she is grounded but please Shelby it will only take a few minutes." He pleased and I shook my head again.

"I said no Jesse. I have to hold Rachel responsible for her actions and me letting you see her would just show her that I am willing to bend my rules and I'm not. I'm sorry Jesse but if you want to see her then try to find her tomorrow at school."

"Shelby-"

"No Jesse, this isn't Vocal Adrenaline where you can bend my rules to your liking. This is my home and what I say here sticks. I'm sorry but good night." I said as I slipped back into the house and saw Rachel standing in the hallway.

"That wasn't the delivery person was it?" She asked and I shook my head.

"It was Jesse, he wanted to talk to you." I said and Rachel nodded as she folded her hands over her chest.

"And?" Rachel asked and I shrugged.

"I told him that if he needed to talk to you he could try and do it tomorrow while you were at school." I said and Rachel nodded.

"I'm not ready." Rachel said and I smirked as I pulled her into a hug.

"I know and that's okay. So how about we go back to packing and when the real delivery guy gets here we can stop for the night." I said and Rachel smiled as she looked up to me.

"Okay, but I get to answer the door." Rachel said and I gave her a look.

"I don't know what you are up to young lady but I'm not sure I'm going to like it." I said and she shrugged.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Rachel said as she walked back into the living room and started packing again.

When the delivery man actually showed up I let Rachel go and answer the door, against my better judgement to find that it was not a delivery man at the door but it was my brother-in-law wielding a few tupperware containers of food that Rachel requested he make and bring for us.

"Bryan please tell me you didn't just cook this because Rachel asked." I said as I saw him unloading all the food that he brought and he shrugged.

"It was nothing. Plus there isn't anything that I wouldn't do for this kid."

"BRYAN! This is not something that you should be doing. Rachel was suppose to order take out not call you and have you make a gourmet dinner." I said as I glared at Rachel who was hiding behind her uncle at the moment.

"This is what I was making for Jennifer and myself we had extra so I heated it up and added a little to it and then brought it over, it was nothing."

"Not again, is that understood?" I asked the two of them and they both nodded.

"Yes ma'am." They said in chorus as they both gave me puppy dog eyes and I couldn't help but laugh at their antics.

"Now what sorts of deliciousness do you have for us Bryan?"

* * *

**A/n: **SO I finally got around to posting this chapter and hopefully I can get new chapter out soon, but we will see.


	26. Chapter 26

**Shelby's POV:**

The rest of the week flew by and before I knew it Rachel and I were moving into our new house. Rachel was whining and complaining about having to move boxes into the house, which was nothing new being as she complained about every other step of the process. I on the other hand just wanted the unpacking to be done so that this seemed more real. At the moment I was in awe of the new house and it still wasn't hitting me that this was mine.

I had finally put down roots, the one thing that scared me the most in life. I was no longer free to just pick up and move whenever I wanted to. I now had a home and a family that I couldn't just run away from no matter how hard things got. This was the one thing that I had been avoiding since I graduated high school. Never in my life did I picture myself with the perfect house and the perfect family to fill it but now I had just that, and there was nothing more that I wanted in my life. In fact if it was just Rachel and I the rest of my life I would be the happiest person alive.

"Where do you want this one?" Rachel asked as she moved another box into the room and then proceeded to set it down and sit on it.

"What is in the box?" I asked and she sighed as she looked down at the label on the box.

"Sheet music." She said and I pointed towards my office and she groaned as she got off the box and then carried it to the office.

"Stop complaining, when you get back we are stopping for lunch." I called after her as I myself took a box into the kitchen.

"What kind of lunch?" Rachel asked as she appeared in the kitchen, suddenly happier now that she wasn't moving boxes.

"Check the fridge." I said after I set the box I was moving on the counter and Rachel happily opened the fridge and took out the tupperware containers that Bryan and Jennifer had dropped off while Rachel was organizing her bedroom.

"Wait is this veggie stir fry? This can't be Uncle Bryan's veggie stir fry can it?" Rachel asked and I shrugged as she pulled the lid off and then turned to me with a huge grin.

"It is his stir fry!" She said as she put the container down and went about gathering two plates and making lunch for us.

"So I guess you like what I got for lunch." I said and Rachel nodded.

"This is my favorite." Rachel said and I smirked.

"Oh I know." I said and Rachel paused for a moment.

"When did you get this? I was with you the entire day there was no way that you could have gotten this." Rachel said and I smirked.

"When you were organizing your room Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Bryan came by and dropped off some lunch."

"They didn't stay?" Rachel asked and I shook my head.

"Nope, Jennifer hates unpacking more than you do and she knew that if they hung around long enough I would put them to work." I said and Rachel smiled.

"I could see that." Rachel said as she went back to heating up the food.

Once lunch was finished Rachel and I finished bringing the last few boxes into the appropriate rooms before I started to unpack the living room and Rachel went back to organizing her bedroom.

I knew that Rachel was only organizing her room in order to get out of helping unpack the living room but after everything that Rachel had helped me with today I was not going to force her into helping with the living room.

The major pieces of furniture had been delivered earlier and were already in place so the only real things that needed to be unpacked were things like the DVDs and pictures that I wanted to put up in the place.

When I was through with placing all the DVDs where they needed to be I went ahead and took a break while I figured out where I wanted to put the other things. I could already tell that I was going to have to go shopping for more things to fill the place with. The living room itself was the size of half my condo and I really did not have enough to fill the space just yet.

Figuring that I could look online and see what I wanted to get to fill the space I grabbed my computer and sat down at the bar in the kitchen to see what I wanted. When I opened my laptop I saw the napkin the Judy had given me and I sighed. I knew that I had a moment and I could email Sue but at the same time I really wanted Rachel to be the one to tell me about herself. Although I could always just draft the email to send to her at a later date if I wanted to. In the end I turned on my computer and let my fingers take control of what I was doing.

_Dear Sue,_

No I didn't know her like that, I couldn't just use her first name.

_Dear Mrs. Sylvester,_

That was better but I had no idea if she was married.

_Dear Ms. Sylvester,_

Now we were getting somewhere.

_Dear Ms. Sylvester,_

_My name is Shelby Corcoran. Recently I acquired custody of my daughter Rachel Berry but I don't know that much about her. She is very closed off and I just don't feel like she is going to open up to me. I'm trying to be patient and wait for her to come around but it's hard. Rachel is my only child and with coming into her life so late I am just trying to piece together pieces that I am missing and Judy Fabray said that you could help. I don't know if you are willing to help but any time that you could give me would be greatly appreciated._

_Sincerely,_

_Shelby Corcoran_

My cursor fluttered over the send button for a few seconds before I maned up and hit the button. I know that I would never truly be ready to send the email so I figured that sending it and delaying a response was better than never sending it and being in the dark in regards to Rachel for the rest of my time with her.

After the email was sent I went ahead and looked at other things to fill my house with before I headed up to Rachel's room to see what she was up to. When I got to Rachel's room I saw that she was lying on her bed writing something so I knocked on her doorframe so that she knew I was around and didn't feel like I was invading her space.

"Yes?" Rachel asked as she stopped what she was doing and looked up at me.

"I just wanted to see if you were done unpacking your room." I said as I walked into her bedroom and saw that for the most part she was finished.

"I have two more boxes to put away but I have most of it done. I have a question for you though." Rachel said as she sat up and tucked whatever she was writing behind her so that it was hidden from my view.

"What is your question?" I asked and she sighed as she started to fidget with the hem of the shirt she was wearing.

"Well you see tomorrow is Sunday which means that I am no longer grounded-"

"Does it?" I joked and Rachel looked up at me with a hint of fear and I nodded. "Yes as of tomorrow you are not grounded, continue." I said and Rachel nodded as she tried to pick up where she left off.

"I-I was wondering if maybe I could um, if i could go to Lima." Rachel finally said as she looked into my eyes as if searching for an answer.

"I don-"

"Before you answer the reason I wanted to go to Lima was to go and hang out with some of my friends, yes the ones that snuck into your rehearsal, but they are the only real friends that I have and I need to talk to them. Please?" Rachel said and I paused for a moment to think things over.

As much as I wanted Rachel to stay in Akron tomorrow and not make the drive to Lima I knew that she needed time away. I could remember how badly I wanted to get away from my parents in high school and I could tell that Rachel was no different. She needed the time escape.

"Alright but you have to be home by ten and I want you to text me when you get there and when you leave, is that clear?" I asked and Rachel happily grinned as she nodded.

"Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, now come on and help me finish up the living room so we can actually get some use out of that room tonight."

"But I don't want to!" Rachel whined and I smirked.

"I didn't ask if you wanted to I asked you to come and help me, now lets go." I said and she moaned and she threw herself back on her bed.

"But I still have to finish unpacking my room." She protested and I shook my head.

"You have most of it unpacked already, you can spare a few minutes to help me."

"But I already unpacked one room today, isn't that enough?" Rachel asked with pleading eyes and I laughed.

"You almost finished packing your room so it doesn't count."

"And why not?" Rachel asked and I had to just give her a look.

"Because when everything is all unpacked in the rest of the house I will still have to unpack my room, so no just unpacking your room is not enough, now lets go." I said as I walked over to her bed and pulled her into a sitting position by her arms.

"But I'm so tired!" Rachel complained and I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"Well then as soon as we are done unpacking you can go to bed, how about that?" I asked and she stopped fighting me for a moment.

"No, I'm good."

"But you said that you were tired and I wouldn't want you to stay awake when you are so tired." I teased and she pouted.

"That's not what I meant."

"But that is what you said. Come on Rachel lets go, all we are doing is prolonging the time that we have to be unpacking." I said as I grabbed her hands and tried to tug her up so that she was standing.

"But momma I don't wanna!" Rachel whined and I just froze.

* * *

**Rachel's POV:**

I didn't know what happened. Shelby and I were just playing around and it slipped out. I mean there should be nothing wrong with what I called her but I wasn't sure if I was ready, heck I didn't know if she was ready for this step for that matter.

It was something that I was going to talk to her about soon but I didn't think something like this would happen and now that is did I had two options. My first option was to act like it never happened and just go back to calling her Shelby from now on, but I wasn't sure of the ramifications of that. Me calling her mom may have triggered some happy feeling for Shelby that made her all giddy inside and I couldn't take that away from her. My other option was to just go with it like it was completely normal. She was my mom and there should be no problem with me addressing her as such, but I didn't want to rush things. I mean it was only the second, going on third, week of me being with her and maybe this was too soon. Maybe by me calling her mom she will think that I am comfortable here which I'm not, well at least not completely.

"Come on." Shelby said diffusing some of the tension that had been built up by the silence between us.

This time I didn't argue with her I just got up and we both walked down to the living room in silence.

"So I already put the DVDs away so there are only a few more boxes that need to be emptied and then we are finished in here." Shelby said as she sat herself by one of the boxes and I nodded as I went about gathering another box so that I could empty the contents and we could get done sooner.

It took two and a half hours to finish up, so much for just a few boxes, and then Shelby and I went into the kitchen and went abut making dinner for ourselves. It was turning into a rather quite evening which was okay, but I couldn't help but feel bad. I mean if it wasn't for my little slip up we would of been having a perfectly normal night. There would have been some light bantering, some talking, and then some comfortable silence. What we had instead was just silence with some forced conversation in between. It hadn't even been this quiet when I couldn't talk for a week. I had in fact ruined everything with just one little slip of the tongue.

After dinner Shelby went to go unpack her own room and I was left alone to do as I pleased and I wasn't really sure what to do. I mean there were a couple boxes that I could unpack in my room but when that was finished I wasn't sure what I was going to do but I would have to worry about that when the time came.

I headed up to my room and found that my phone had been returned to my bed which I was thrilled about. I quickly shut my bedroom door and then plopped down on my bed and called Brittany to check in with the girls in Lima to make sure it was okay for me to head over there tomorrow.

"Hello?" Brittany answered after the first ring and my face instantly broke out into a smile.

"Brittany I miss you so much!" I said and I could hear Brittany suddenly squeal.

"RACHEL I MISS YOU TOO! How are you?" She asked and I sighed.

"Confused." I said and I heard Brittany say something to someone that she was with before there was silence for a moment.

"Sorry I had to head into my bedroom, my parents have the neighbors over and they are playing monopoly. So what is so confusing?" Brittany asked and I wasn't sure where to start.

"A lot of things, will Quinn and Santana be off of their grounding tomorrow?" I asked and Brittany let out a little laugh.

"I think so. Santana was so pissed when she got in trouble. I think what made it worse was the fact that your mom was the one who got them in trouble."

"I'm sorry that it happened, I swear I didn't rat."

"We know, Mr. Schuester was the one who got them in trouble. Though it didn't help that your mom called and busted Mr. Schue's balls. Speaking of your mom how is all that going?" Brittany asked and I groaned.

"That is part of the reason why I am so confused."

"Oh no, what happened?" Brittany asked and I looked towards my door just to make sure no one was spying on my conversation.

"I called her mom today." I said and there was a pause in the conversation.

"And? I don't get what is so confusing about that." Brittany said and I wasn't sure how to explain it to her.

"I just met the woman this year Brittany and I don't know if I'm really ready to call her mom. I just don't know if it's too soon or not and I just need someone to help me think through this."

"Well did it feel weird to call her mom, like uncomfortable?" Brittany asked and I thought about it for a second.

"Not really, it just sort of happened I didn't think about it."

"Then why not call her mom? If it's not uncomfortable then there is no reason for you to not call her mom. I mean Lord Tubbington called me mom from the first moment he met me and we don't even look alike. If it feels right Rachel then why not?" Brittany asked and it made me think.

When it slipped out it felt completely normal until I realized what I had said. It felt like something that should happen or that had always happened. I mean I always bickered with my dads so when it happened with Shelby it was sort of nice. It was the way that I imagine our relationship would have been if she was there from the beginning.

"I think you're right Brittany." I said and she laughed.

"I usually am, but for some reason people just don't listen to what I am saying. I don't get it I have really good advice to give." Brittany chirped and I couldn't help but laugh being as I have been on the receiving end of some of her 'advice' rants.

"Well some times it takes you a few minutes to get to the advice part of your lecture Brit, and most people don't have that large of an attention span." I said to make Brit feel better.

"You're right. So are you coming tomorrow?" Brittany asked and I smiled being as I never even hinted that I was thinking of coming.

"I think so, how did you even know?" I asked.

"You asked if thing one and two were off of their groundings tomorrow which meant either you want to call and talk to them or you want to come to Lima and being as I already talked to you on the phone I figured you wanted to come see us." Brittany said and I just rolled my eyes.

"Yes I am coming tomorrow so let the troublemakers know. Anyway I have to finish unpacking a few things so we will just have to talk tomorrow."

"Alright, hey we should totally have a sleepover at your new house soon." Brittany said and I was already thinking of a million reasons to not have one here.

"Maybe, but I really have to go Brit."

"Bye Rach, see you tomorrow!" Brittany said before she hung up the phone and I threw my phone towards my pillow where I saw my journal peaking out from where I had tucked it earlier.

I quickly pulled it out and flipped to the page that I had been working on before Shelby walked in and read over what I had written.

_Dear Daddy,_

_It's almost the anniversary of your passing and my mood has starting to reflect it. I've moved in with Shelby as you know and we just moved into the new house I've told you about, but being around Shelby all the time with my mood changing means that it's only a matter of time before I push her too far, or worse I could just try to hide everything that I am feeling and we know what happens when I do that. I'm so lost and I want to open up to her I just-I just don't know._

_On top of all of that confusion the boy that I've been seeing told me that he loves me and I sort of freaked out. I know that you told me I would know what to do in a situation like this but I didn't. I mean I think that I love him but am I ready for the I LOVE YOU?_

_Regardless I think that if I don't tell him I that I love him he is going to leave me and I can't go through that , not around this time. Shelby is all about me not doing anything that I'm not ready for but she doesn't know me that well. I just sort of wish that you were here, you always had the best advice._

I left the entry as it was, I just signed my name and then tucked it between my mattress and I rolled over and closed my eyes for some much needed sleep.

**A/n: Enjoy! And Happy Fourth to Everyone celebrating, I know I will be!**


End file.
